The Shadows of Vader - Book II
by Miss-Inquisitive-Sci-fi
Summary: 2 months have passed since the life-altering events in Revelation of the Sith, Obi-Wan and Anakin are learning to deal with new difficulties in their apprenticeship as they are dispatched on their latest assignment. To make matters worse the past doesn't seem to want to remain that way as old enemies resurface with vengeance in mind. SEQUEL to Revelation of the Sith.
1. Chapter 1

**Welcome to book 2 in my series! I can't really believe I'm onto book 2 now but the ideas I have for this one came directly from writing Revelation of the Sith. Prior reading of that story won't be completely necessary as things will be explained but it is certainly recommended to enhance the reading of this one. As always feedback is appreciated even if that is constructive criticism :) Enjoy!**

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An adolescent boy stumbled step by step, fumbling and shivering as he grudgingly made progress along the winding encompassing path, a path travelled by countless generations gone by. A clouded mist swirled from the teen's lips as his warm breath met the icy chill in the caves and battled for dominance, the cold always emerging victorious. The boy wrapped trembling arms around his mid-riff in a vain attempt to ward off the frosty atmosphere, his teeth chattered insistently as only sheer force of will spurred him onwards towards his goal. Here in the present moment deep inside the ice caves of Ilum a seeker wrestled with demons in search of a most precious item, in search of the prize for this quest, a rightful saber crystal.

The boy tripped over a protruding rock his usual instincts and awareness dulled by hours of gruelling searching in below-freezing temperatures. No more than a grunt escaped his lips as the young Jedi Padawan made contact with the ground, none too softly either. His body was far too numb to feel the full effects of the collision, the force far too pure here to not aid in dampening the majority of anguish. He lay there with his cheek pressed against the sub-zero floor, breathing heavily and fighting ever so valiantly to keep his eyes from shutting. He was just so blasted _tired,_ exhausted really.

Anakin Skywalker laid still for a few moments just about managing to remain awake as his addled brain yelled out to his conscious that falling asleep in such temperatures could very well be the end of him. He scrunched up his face into a grimace as the throbbing in his feet reached new levels of agony, it had been so long since he had left Obi-Wan at the entrance to the caves and started out on his journey, too long. Absently he wondered if Obi-Wan was alright at the other end, the thought only served to treble his level of guilt, here he was close to surrendering and poor old Obi-Wan was patiently waiting on his Padawan's success.

Determinedly Anakin drew on the force to sustain him, felt the gorgeous currents race through his nerves to revitalise dormant muscles. He started to feel his fingers once more and proceeded to lift himself up into a sitting position, taking stock of any injuries the last fall had produced. Other than sporting some new rather nasty looking bruises the only physical evidence of his carelessness was a shallow cut to his temple, he gingerly prodded the wound and winced when he felt the pain. It seemed the deathly temperatures weren't enough to numb _all_ scrapes, he supposed that it was a good sign he could still feel things, hypothermia was a very real possibility in a climate such as this. Curiously though he could feel that whatever blood had escaped the wound had already been frozen to crust against his skin, another excellent reason to get up and keep the blood _inside_ of him moving.

He shivered the terrible afterthought away and was just about to gain his footing again before a booming voice shattered all confidence, had him reaching for a non-existent weapon and had his heart nearly race out his chest simultaneously.

"Giving up already, _Jedi?_ "

The voice echoed around the wide space, deafening in volume. Anakin squeezed his eyes tightly shut against the assault he could feel where that voice had originated from, it was the dark side. He had been warned about the caves of Ilum, of what could happen in this ancient place. So far however except for exhaustion he had not faced anything which would remotely justify Obi-Wan's worry for him, that would rationalise the fact that many Jedi were changed from this experience. It seemed the time of trial had finally come for him, he mused that his goal must be close by.

Anakin ignored the taunt and finished picking himself up, raising mental shields so high that the insistent voices were reduced to whispers. He looked around the walls in search for any crystal that called out to him, to any that felt right. Obi-Wan had told him he would know when he found the crystal meant for him, Anakin only knew that up to this point any crystal he had come across felt overwhelmingly _wrong_. He was beginning to wonder if there was such a thing as a crystal which suited _him_ but after the sudden appearance of the dark he knew his was close, Jedi had to overcome their deepest fears to claim their treasure, that part of the tale remained true for every story he had heard.

He stumbled forwards with more haste, ignoring the rising number of voices as he pushed onward. He could now use that alone as an indicator to his proximity to the crystal, the closer one got the more vicious the defence's became. Anakin now understood his Master's anxiety over this expedition, over his completing it alone. He had always had more fear within his heart for the dark to draw too, that much had been made clear on their first mission away together…

Anakin shook the memory clear as he caught flashes of the harrowing mission in his sightline, the more he thought about his fears the more realistic the hallucinations would appear to be. Anakin knew the dangers of being lost inside one's own mind, with the demons that currently lay there Anakin knew that was a place he never wanted to reside. The only reason why Obi-Wan had agreed to allow his Padawan to claim a saber crystal this way was because of tradition and a hard won debate, also a feeling that Anakin needed this chance and a fresh start. His old weapon of course had been lost to the enemy when they had battled the Sith emergence.

Anakin could remember the stern expression on his Master's face over the request as if it were yesterday, he had stubbornly refused for Anakin to travel to Ilum, his own fears clouding his judgement. They had argued fiercely for _weeks_ over the matter until Obi-Wan was caught in a trap set by his own Master who had pointed out that Obi-Wan had requested the same right when he was a Padawan, and had won the chance to follow in the countless footsteps of other Jedi. Obi-Wan had remained aggrieved with Qui-Gon's interference for some time after that, Anakin did feel horrible for putting the two in such a position but he knew this was the path for him. As they meditated together the next evening Obi-Wan saw too that this was to be Anakin's path and cautiously gave the mission the go ahead. Of course Anakin had been wrung through the ringer since then in preparation for a task of this magnitude, rigorous training of both the mind and the body.

Now as he limped closer and closer towards his goal Anakin thought that perhaps even with all that preparation he was not truly ready, nothing could truly prepare him for _this._

He gasped loudly as another mental assault crashed against his shields, desperately attempting to break through to plumage through his memories, through to his deepest fears. Head in his hands Anakin somehow found the focus to carry on, blind as he was with his eyes he relied solely on feeling the object he desired calling for him through the force.

The next wave of attack's had him on his knees in seconds, his screams echoed around the sparkling caves as the dark finally cracked through his desperate attempts of keeping them out. When he opened his eyes Anakin was no longer in a cave, he recognised the surroundings immediately however, Skepaf's ship.

"No, No…" He muttered as he desperately tried to end the dark's reign of power although the attempts were eventually in vain.

He watched his own arm rise to close around the Captain's neck, felt the raw _power_ flowing through his veins as he enjoyed watching a man suffocate by his hand. Anakin shook the feeling's away knowing them not to be true anymore, not to be his. The memory now brought on a great sense of nausea as he watched Skepaf's struggles grow weaker, heard Obi-Wan's breathing turn shallower behind him. To Anakin's shock the vision did not stop, his arm did not lower. He continued to squeeze the life out of Skepaf until there was nothing left, until he saw the light leave the doomed Captain's eyes. The harder he tried to pull away the harder the pull he felt to continue squeezing, he heard the epic crack of a neck snapping and cried out in disgust over the barbaric actions, how could this be from his hand?

Anakin threw every trick he had at the invaders in his mind in any attempt to stop such an awful vision, this was not how things happened he knew that Obi-Wan had stopped him before anything had gotten so drastic. He accepted that perhaps without Obi-Wan's timely interruption this was exactly what would have happened, what the force was showing him was simply an alternate choice. He quickly threw up anything that was remaining in his stomach, a meagre amount in truth but enough to bring him out of the vision and back into the iciness of the caves.

The young Padawan gripped a nearby wall for support and blearily lifted his battered head to see ahead, instead of the now familiar ice walls he found himself in some sort of tent, a raging fire in the center causing shadows to dance on the surroundings. His gaze was drawn to the sole occupant as her moans of agony filtered through to his struggling mind, he knew this not to be real yet nothing had ever felt _more_ real than what he was experiencing presently.

Anakin stumbled towards the strung up women his heart swelling as he felt the agony she was in, it wasn't until he got close that he recognised just who the person was.

"Mum?"

He felt his temper rage inside his body, his blood boiling at the sight. How could anyone do this to his mother? How cruel did they have to be?

Anakin undid the bindings with trembling hand's as he willed for his Mother to be alright, she felt cold to touch and Anakin could already feel most of her life force had left her. She was dying. Why was the force showing him this? Was this in his future? He could not allow it, _would_ not allow it.

As Shmi Skywalker passed away in his arms Anakin let out a roar of pure agony, of hatred to the force and everything that had caused this moment to come to pass. If he were a Jedi and he could not save his own Mother then what was the point in anything? Anakin absently noted picking up a light saber to his side, he stood still shaking from the growing rage and despair racing through his veins.

He didn't feel the slightest bit of remorse as his saber carved through the monsters that had butchered his _mother_ as if she were an animal, the guilt which clung to his veins from Skepaf's death all but evaporated as he drew more and more on his hatred to obliterate each and every one of these monsters.

By the time Anakin felt the cool walls of Ilum beneath his feet again he was shaking violently, not out of coldness but out of shock, deep unsettling shock. Whatever that had been he couldn't shake the feeling of joy he had felt when he was hacking away at other sentient beings, the pleasure and power he drew on as he butchered each and every one of them. Anakin was promptly sick again.

He felt drained as he fell to his knees, not willing to find the strength to move onwards after experiencing something as real as that, as _harrowing_ as that. When he did find the strength to look forwards he saw the very thing he had been searching for, a crystal so pure with light that he was sure it would burn him after what he had just done. The evils and atrocities he had just committed. A small part of him knew that this must be happening in his mind, that did not change his own choices however nor the overwhelming joy he felt _murdering_ others.

Anakin's vision blurred as he felt more beings pry into his mind, ripping it open to let any and all horrors come tumbling out. Vision's started up all around him as he crawled slowly onwards, gaining ground agonisingly slowly on the reason he was in so much misery. Obi-Wan had not been kidding when he warned Anakin the true opponent he would face here was himself.

He desperately tried to ignore the growing number of visions even though he could still feel everything from them, feel the incredible loss of life and the pain from thousands if not millions of suffering sentients. War raged around him as the flames grew higher, ships and worlds exploded into extinction and he felt each loss as if it were ripping out a piece of his heart forever. Perhaps in some sense they were.

Anakin found himself screaming again, or perhaps he was imagining that too, as he watched Jedi fall around him, brutally slaughtered by men in white armour. As much as he tried to ignore the destruction raging he could not, the sheer realty of the images were enough to cause every muscle in his body to shake almost enough for him to give up entirely.

He collapsed to the floor as a whole planet exploded beside him, a whole planet and all it's people gone, obliterated. The loss of each life stabbed him until he was sure there was not one inch of his body that did not feel it, the force screamed in agony as so many innocents were slaughtered. He lay there panting and broken as the vision's finally ebbed away from existence, leaving him alone with the after effects of such brutality. He looked forwards into the caves and saw he was now within a meter of his target, just one final push…

Anakin made one last ditch attempt to leap for the crystal as the horrors of the latest vision's clung to him, the realty of it all stripping his lungs effectively of breath. As he leapt the caves fell away for the final time and he was thrust into a future far from now. This time Anakin was watching from the sidelines as two fighters duelled over perilous surroundings, over _lava_ to be precise.

The two duellists were evidently Jedi from their light saber's, both were blue even though this did not seem to be training. Anakin could see from their saber play and body language that these two were attempting to kill one another. As he stumbled closer to the deadly flurry of clashing light the figures became less blurred. Anakin could see that they were both experienced Jedi, battle worn would be a better word. One was dressed in light tunics, the other in black. It was evident that either fighter was as skilled as the other, they knew each other's next move before they knew there own. They _knew_ each other.

Just as he got close enough to see the fighter's faces the Jedi in dark tunics disarmed the Jedi in light, the elder man fell to his knees in a heap, defeated, exhausted. The dark Jedi's saber moved to the light's neck which served to shed some clarity on the situation.

"Master?" Anakin whispered in shock as he recognised the facial structure, the hair, the eyes.

Obi-Wan's usual bright eyes were drowned in such sorrow, such conflictions and horror that Anakin almost stumbled away from the defeated man. As he stared into Obi-Wan's eyes he couldn't help but shake the feeling that his Master had seen something which had worn him, something so terrible that his body's age would never match that of his eyes again.

"Get on with it," Obi-Wan spat, voice cracking as unwanted emotion seeped in.

No this can't be happening… Anakin thought, he couldn't handle seeing his Master's death and to be cut down so mercilessly?

"As you wish."

Anakin stopped, truly stopped as he heard the other fighter speak. He knew that voice well, it was his own.

He looked up into the eyes of Obi-Wan's attacker as he already felt hot tears stain his cheeks, he heard the thrumming of the saber rise dramatically in volume, almost to a deafening level. This man was undoubtedly Anakin Skywalker, or more accurately he had been. Anakin felt unbelievably sick as he looked into the eyes of his elder self, corrupted and hate-filled just like the rest of him. His worst fear, he had succumbed to the dark side.

Anakin screamed at his elder self to stop as the saber was raised high, actually ran forward to intercept the blade as it crashed down towards the defenceless Obi-Wan. He felt a huge part of him die as the saber crashed straight through him and continued downwards to Obi-Wan, killing the Jedi instantly as the weapon cut through the man's neck.

Anakin yelled and cried as he held Obi-Wan's lifeless body in his arms, as he saw the small smile grace his elder self's features. How could he? His own Master? His inhuman cries of anguish shook the very core of the vision and reverberated far into the force, his tortured soul lay bared open for any that wished to see.

Anakin bowed his head in a defeated posture, he was done this was too much for him. He felt a searing pain briefly as his elder self's saber crashed down upon him and then nothing, only darkness…

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Obi-Wan gasped audibly as a great disturbance in the force brought him aggressively and rather too swiftly out of meditation. He brought up his hands in an attempt to stave off the dizzying feeling, being pulled forcibly out of such a deep trance so suddenly was not recommended and certainly did not help his already anxious feelings.

"Obi-Wan?" Qui-Gon's querying voice drifted through to his conscious thoughts as he desperately attempted to dowse his growing concern's over Anakin's safety, that last feeling had not helped matters.

"Did you feel it?" Obi-Wan asked through gritted teeth, head still throbbing with the after effects of such a tremendous shockwave.

"Feel what?"

The negative answer was unexpected to Obi-Wan who was still suffering the full effects of the huge tremors tainting the force, in that moment he had felt such agony and pain stemming from one source, Anakin.

"A disturbance, he's in terrible pain, Master." Obi-Wan finally adjusted enough to open his eyes to the world, he directed his gaze towards the ghost of Qui-Gon who sat beside him on the ship's ramp.

He watched as Qui-Gon furrowed his brows in confusion, whatever Obi-Wan was sensing it seemed his Master did not concur. Perhaps Obi-Wan was more sensitive to Anakin's troubles; because of their training bond?

"Obi-Wan, I don't feel anything untoward, you know that the trials faced in these caves will cause Anakin to confront his fears."

Obi-Wan glanced back towards the cave entrance as snow continued to pelt down before he and Qui-Gon, what he had just sensed from his Padawan felt more than he had ever experienced, much more than facing one's fears. He couldn't help but shake the feeling that Anakin was in trouble.

"You're worried for him." It was a statement of fact rather than opinion, they both knew from Obi-Wan's body language that he could be seconds away from breaking all rules and racing in after his Padawan.

"Of course I am," Obi-Wan muttered as he attempted, albeit in vain to make contact with his young charge along their bond which Anakin had rather successfully until now kept blocked. "I should never have let him face this alone."

Qui-Gon chuckled lightly which caused Obi-Wan to whip his head towards him, what about this situation could possibly be funny? To Qui-Gon's credit he did sober when he acknowledged Obi-Wan's infuriated look.

"This reminds me of when you went into the caves." Qui-Gon clarified his source of his humour.

Obi-Wan's shocked face caused Qui-Gon to chuckle again.

"Yes, Padawan, even I was worried."

Obi-Wan sighed deeply, running calloused hands through his hair as exhaustion ebbed away at his mind. Anakin had certainly been searching for a long time, Obi-Wan of course had stayed alert ever since his apprentice had begun his journey.

"How did you refrain from rushing in?" The question was asked in a half comical half serious manner, Obi-Wan was struggling to find any reason to keep him grounded the longer the silence with Anakin reigned supreme.

"Although it was hard I knew you would not have forgiven me for breaking tradition, just as Anakin would find it hard to forgive you, Obi-Wan. The trial must be taken _alone_ , you know this as well as I do even if it causes us pain to watch the ones we love suffer."

Obi-Wan knew his Master's words to be true as soon as they left his lips, Qui-Gon had always been a masterful diplomat and this was just one example of his brilliance. Anakin would most likely see Obi-Wan's interference as a breach of trust, a sacred promise broken. The Padawan would end up feeling unworthy and that would be completely Obi-Wan's fault, as hard as it was Obi-Wan knew then and there he would have to trust that Anakin would come out of the caves victorious, just as Qui-Gon once had with him.

"I understand, Master." Obi-Wan locked eyes with Qui-Gon again. "It's just Anakin has been different lately, we argue more than ever before and sometimes I can't help but see fire behind his eyes."

He saw Qui-Gon's mood darken before him, worse he saw something akin to disappointment flash across the Jedi Master's face before it was expertly eradicated.

"These feelings stem from the visions don't they? You're blaming him for things that haven't happened yet, Obi-Wan, will not happen. You know that is not fair." Qui-Gon admonished his former Padawan with practised ease, there had been many times in their apprenticeship when Master and apprentice had not agreed.

"We don't know it won't happen, Master…" Obi-Wan began before stopping in his tracks, if he carried on thinking this way then he was in fact sealing Anakin to a horrifying fate. Qui-Gon was right it was not fair to judge the boy on actions which could never happen, that did not help to abate the sickening feeling he carried however.

"It frightens me how much potential he has for darkness, it is why I debated against Ilum for so long. Even for someone so young he has already faced far too much, so many tainting experiences which could cause undue misery inside these caves."

Qui-Gon nodded in understanding, judgement over his Padawan's previous words all but eradicated as he felt first and foremost Obi-Wan's concern for Anakin's future, it was clear the Jedi did not want history to repeat itself.

"Whilst that is true, Obi-Wan, you have to trust that Anakin will move past his own fears, he has already accomplished so much. The future you saw has been altered."

Obi-Wan had to agree with his Master on that point, he and Anakin had faced the evil dark side, the Sith and come through the other side. Perhaps not in one piece however. They had spent the last few months healing, physically and mentally. Whilst all of their physical ailments had been treated and eradicated Obi-Wan knew there to be scars running deeply within the pair of them, scars which had caused arguments between the two and regrettably a rift to open. Obi-Wan hated being at odds with his apprentice, it felt so unnatural. In ways the mission had brought them closer than they had ever been but in others they could not be more distant, it was a conundrum and one which he hoped to solve soon. From what he had learnt of the visions the future was clearer, together they could accomplish the impossible but when the duo were apart thousands suffered, whole worlds suffered. Ever since Obi-Wan had seen those harrowing visions he had promised himself he would not make the same mistakes with Anakin, he would not allow a future even remotely like that to come to pass.

"I just worry about him, he doesn't come to me with problems as much as he used to." Obi-Wan moved to his feet attempting to shake off the restlessness that had occurred.

"You worry too much, Padawan, when you were that age we had our fair share of disagreements. Teenagers go through this stage, it is only natural to rebel." Qui-Gon moved to join Obi-Wan outside of the ship.

Obi-Wan shivered as the biting air caused his tunics to whip in the wind and caused goosebumps to adorn his skin. It was so blasted cold here. He wished Qui-Gon to be right, perhaps this was just a _phase_ in Anakin's teen life. Something however was telling him that this was not the case, of course he did not tell Qui-Gon of such things. The Jedi Master would say as he always had, the future was always in motion and it was best to keep one's mind in the present moment. Obi-Wan always had an affinity with the future, he trusted his bad feeling's and he was getting one about the future now, the source however remained a secret to him.

Before Obi-Wan's musings became too self-destructive he caught sight of movement at the cave's entrance. He squinted through the flurrying of snow and smiled as he caught sight of Anakin. His smile soon turned to a frown however as he saw how the boy was limping and spied dried blood on his apprentice's forehead, so much for no danger.

Obi-Wan rushed across the clearing to reach his Padawan in no time and pulled his own cloak around the positively shivering boy, his skin held an unhealthy blue tinge which also sparked Obi-Wan's worry, he should never have left him out here so long. Anakin's teeth chattered as he led him back towards the inviting ship where Qui-Gon remained waiting, as soon as they were all on board Obi-Wan cranked up the heating and piled thermo blankets on top of Anakin.

"Are you alright, Padawan?"

Anakin's reaction's were sluggish, he acted as if he hadn't even heard the question until many seconds later. His confused eyes met Obi-Wan's and his mind seemed to catch up with the fact that he was out of the caves, on the ship and safe. Anakin managed a weak nod before opening up his clasped hands to show Obi-Wan just what he had accomplished.

Obi-Wan almost stumbled at the light. In Anakin's trembling hands lay a _perfect_ azure saber crystal, so pure that it almost burned to look at it. He looked into Anakin's face proudly as they both felt this crystal was rightly his, Anakin had done well to find a fitting so right.

"Well done, Anakin." Obi-Wan smiled warmly.

Anakin too managed a meek smile underneath all of the shivering, that was until however a memory corrupted the happiness, a rather harrowing one judging by the shadows in the Padawan's gaze.

"Padawan?" He gripped his apprentice's shoulders as impossibly his skin turned an even paler colour, as his eyes clouded over and distantly horrors played out in the young boy's mind. "What did you see in there?"

The question snapped the Padawan out of the trance immediately, he was on the defensive in the next second.

"Nothing!" He wrenched his wrist out of Obi-Wan's steady hold, none too kindly either, which had Obi-Wan's anxiety levels rocketing. This was a prime example of what he had been explaining to Qui-Gon, Anakin no longer shared things with him.

"Anakin, you can't keep what happened in there bottled up, everybody faces things which change them."

His words were meant to give some sort of comfort but from the stark horror spreading across Anakin's face he knew they were having the opposite effect now, what in the blazes could his Padawan have seen in there?

Anakin hung his head low before mumbling his desperate plea, "I know, Master, I just need some time to sort through things… can we just get out of here please?"

The boy's teeth chattered as he pleaded with Obi-Wan, the image effectively softened Obi-Wan's resolve and had him table any discussions for later. It was only fair that Anakin had a chance to make heads or tails of what he had just experienced, Obi-Wan could wait for answers if it was meant to be. In all fairness his Padawan could very well be suffering from a concussion, not to mention hypothermia.

He nodded in agreement which brought a genuine smile to Anakin's face, Obi-Wan understood the sentiment it was exceedingly cold on Ilum. He wistfully watched as Anakin moved to get changed into some dry clothes, calling after him to fetch the medical kit on his way back to the cockpit which of course was met with a groan. Obi-Wan hadn't missed the cut on his forehead and wouldn't let the wound go untreated, Anakin should have known that by now. He supposed the Padawan had rather a lot on his mind…

Obi-Wan sighed deeply before making his own way to the cockpit, leaving Ilum behind for hopefully at least another handful of years. He never liked making the trip here, facing oneself after all was the same as facing one's worst enemy.

He caught Qui-Gon's eye as he prepared the ship for take-off and couldn't help but catch the faintest look of alarm, of anxiety. Of course as soon as Obi-Wan noticed the emotion it was gone, that didn't fool him as to it's existence however he knew what he saw. Perhaps his own worries earlier had sunk in somewhat for the Jedi Master, he had now seen first hand what Obi-Wan meant about Anakin's unusual behaviour.

Perhaps though he was just feeling what Obi-Wan had witnessed in the force. Distantly on the edge of awareness Obi-Wan had felt on more than one occasion an oncoming storm, a wave of darkness and despair with one sole destination. Anakin.

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 **So that's book 2 well and truly underway! I can't say for sure when the next part will be up as I'm currently starting uni again so very hectic atm! Hopefully when things calm down I can get back to my schedule of 1 chapter every week. Hope you all enjoyed the start!**

 **Until next time...**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N - So so sorry this has taken so long, as expected I've just started my final year of uni and it's already insane! Anyway a big thanks to everyone who's reading/reviewing its certainly kicking me to write the next instalment! enjoy**

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Obi-Wan busied himself with the preparation's to leave Ilum, placing their vessel in the perfect position and correcting the controls in order to safely pass through the planet's atmosphere. He had performed the act so many times now that it was almost second nature, he worked almost on automatic as their ship zoomed out into the darkness of space, from one cold void to another. He couldn't help but shake the feeling that even though they were leaving Ilum behind in the distance Ilum would not be leaving them anytime soon, or more precisely wouldn't be leaving Anakin.

He could hear his Padawan pottering about in the back of the ship, most likely looking for the medical kit which Obi-Wan had requested. Each time Obi-Wan attempted to connect with Anakin along their bond he was roughly rebuffed, at first he tried to not take the defensive action personally but the longer the silence reigned the harder the feeling was to shake. Anakin was deeply unbalanced which was the most dangerous situation a Jedi could be in, he only hoped that Anakin would not resist his help to recenter his balance. It was incredibly easy to feel lost at such a young age and even with his Padawan's incredible connection to the force he was still fallible to it, to _both_ sides of it.

His attention was brought back into the present moment as Anakin stalked into the cockpit and plopped down in the co-pilot's seat, hands clasped onto the med kit so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. Obi-Wan raised his brow over the Padawan's grumpy demeanour, he didn't need to be able to read Anakin's exact thoughts to know that the boy was in a sour mood. The question was what was causing it? Just the injuries or the mysterious happenings of Ilum?

"You can relinquish protection of the medical kit now, Padawan," Obi-Wan teased whilst reaching out to take the box.

Anakin flinched when Obi-Wan's skin made contact with his own, the over-reaction was just another thing to add to the list of Obi-Wan's growing concerns.

He frowned at his Padawan at a loss of how he could help when Anakin was acting so defensive, when he had his mental shields up so high that Obi-Wan couldn't even determine a whisper of the inner working's of his mind. It truly was beginning to worry him that Anakin no longer shared things with him, how else was he meant to teach his apprentice?

Anakin remained silent as Obi-Wan dabbed at his cut and ran a medical scanner over the boy's body, he didn't react the next time Obi-Wan made contact with his skin choosing to remain in a pensive silence, brooding even. It didn't take long for Obi-Wan to cleanse and close up the wound on Anakin's forehead, a quick bout of force healing had the remainder of his bruises fixed also. From the scan's it was clear that Anakin had been out in the caves for longer than his body could properly withstand, he was suffering from a mild case of hypothermia which would be easily fixed with plenty of rest and keeping warm.

"Well now you get a medical excuse to sloth in bed, Padawan, all of your dream's come true." Obi-Wan's eyes sparkled as he attempted to bring some levity into the surroundings.

Anakin's response was a meek smile before a shiver passed through his whole body and a dark shadow crossed his eyes, transforming them from their usual bright blue brilliance to a dull lifeless grey. Obi-Wan had seen that look often enough to know what caused it, Anakin was haunted by nightmares beyond imagining.

"We've talked about the trials of Ilum before, Padawan, Jedi who go into the caves _never_ reemerge the same person." As Obi-Wan lectured Anakin's guilt above all else bled through, he was _ashamed_ of his changes. "Anakin, what happened down there?"

Obi-Wan observed the dejectedness in Anakin's posture as the boy refused to meet his eye, he caught the faintest flash of fear cross Anakin's mind before he was ruthlessly pushed out again. There was an overwhelming feeling of _shame_ surrounding the young boy's force aura, why could Anakin not see the wonderful magnificence he had achieved? It was not an easy thing to face oneself after all.

"Master, with all due respect I don't think I'm ready to talk about it, if I did… Well I feel that it would only make matters worse, _much_ worse." The tone was a vast improvement to earlier, neither snappy nor disrespectful. The Padawan was clearly unsure of his already teetering control over his emotions if he were forced to discuss the trial, that was the precise reason _why_ being unbalanced was so dangerous.

Obi-Wan sighed to himself, he couldn't very well get angry at Anakin for his refusal he understood the importance of patience more than most. Discussing something as monumental to Anakin as this without time to reflect could very well cause more harm than good just as the Padawan had suggested.

"I understand, Anakin, but I will say this, you cannot hide from this forever and I am always here to help. You know that." Obi-Wan turned fully to face his Padawan, placing a warm hand on the boy's shoulder in a reassuring manner.

Anakin even managed a smile after hearing Obi-Wan's promise of being there for him, gratefulness shining from his eyes blindingly.

"I know, Master, I'm just so exhausted now, so _unbalanced._ "

Obi-Wan nodded in understanding as he felt the truth of Anakin's words, unbalanced was quite frankly an understatement for the boys current state of mind. Perhaps it was best for Anakin to spend some time reflecting on the past, they could then regroup and hopefully move past any remaining issues his young charge faced. A Jedi must always turn to the force first and foremost after all.

"Okay, Anakin, you better go get some rest." Anakin nodded before moving swiftly to leave the bridge, his anxiety to get away from the conversation was not lost on Obi-Wan. He decided not to push the issue further knowing it would only return Anakin to a sour mood and he would then not be in the right frame of mind to sort through his muddled feelings.

"I'm proud of you, Padawan, you did well today." Obi-Wan smiled genuinely as he truly meant the words, Anakin had achieved a great feat and had returned from his quest with the most beautiful saber crystal Obi-Wan had ever seen.

Anakin smiled at the compliment, it didn't fully serve to mask the reservation and fear still held in his eyes however. The Padawan left the cockpit with due haste and made his way back to the living quarters towards the rear of the ship, not noticing Obi-Wan's worried expression as he left.

Obi-Wan sighed heavily and ran his hands through his hair in a huff, deeply frustrated with how events had just occurred and most importantly with feeling Anakin's despair but not being able to help. He hated seeing his Padawan in such a way, he was the one who was meant to help yet all he seemed to be doing was causing his young apprentice more pain. He found himself stroking his chin in thought as Qui-Gon re-appeared beside him, the sudden emergence neither shocked or startled him much to his Master's chagrin. Qui-Gon had tried time and time again to catch Obi-Wan off guard but had so far failed in his goal.

"You're doing that more often you know?" Qui-Gon grinned as he indicated Obi-Wan's thinking gesture.

Obi-Wan looked down at his hand absently wondering where in fact he had picked up the gesture, perhaps it had happened after the growth of a beard…

He smiled before ignoring the judgment, the action served to help him think so was not a detrimental one in his mind. "Were you listening?"

"Always." Qui-Gon's joyous expression transformed seriously, sobering to match the mood in the cockpit.

Obi-Wan was rather curious as to his Master's opinions of Anakin's behaviour, an outsider could sometimes see more than the people concerned and with somebody as perceptive as Qui-Gon there was no doubt he had a good grasp of the situation by now.

"And?" Obi-Wan prompted when Qui-Gon fell into a pensive silence.

"I think you're right about Anakin hiding things from you, I don't believe it's because he doesn't trust you though… It's almost like he's trying to protect you from something, perhaps what he saw."

Obi-Wan agreed with the evaluation somewhat, he hadn't thought about Anakin's silence in a way of protecting him before but the hypothesis did fit. Anakin should know by now though that it was not his burden or responsibility to protect Obi-Wan, it was the other way around. The curiosity now surrounded just exactly what Anakin had seen, Obi-Wan knew all too well how destabilising visions were and he had seen the worst things imaginable. A dreadful after-thought raced through Obi-Wan's mind as he asked himself if it was possible Anakin had seen what he had? Even witnessing parts of those awful visions would account for the deep shock settling into his Padawan right now.

"You haven't showed him anything have you?" Obi-Wan asked urgently.

"Of course not ,Obi-Wan." Qui-Gon shot down the statement and pushed aside wounded feelings also, knowing that Obi-Wan did not mean to insult. He was on the brink and extremely worried about Anakin.

Obi-Wan calmed himself as he realised that line of thought had really gotten away from him, of course Qui-Gon wouldn't have let anything slip with Anakin he was careful. If Anakin ever saw what Obi-Wan had… The result was unthinkable.

"Master, what can I do if he won't talk to me? He won't even let me into his mind anymore…"

Qui-Gon raised his brow in surprise, comically even at the mere thought of a Padawan outsmarting the Master. They both knew Anakin was no ordinary Padawan though.

"You've seen how stubborn he is, Qui-Gon, how strong in the force…" Obi-Wan let the rest of the sentence trail off as he felt a flash of pain traverse his and Anakin's bond.

Before he could truly batter Anakin's mental shields to find out what the blazes had happened, his Padawan's insistent reassurance filtered into his mind. He was fine. Obi-Wan fought the urge to check up on his apprentice in person, only managing to stay away knowing that truly racing in would do more harm than good. Their trust was at a precarious point at present so reluctantly Obi-Wan remained on the bridge and took Anakin at his word.

"I used to know a boy who sounded just like that." Qui-Gon's teasing brought him back into the present moment and even caused a grin to grace Obi-Wan's features as he identified who his Master was describing, a younger him.

Qui-Gon sobered as he then answered the heartfelt plea seriously, "You can do what you always have, Obi-Wan, be there for him whenever he needs you."

"I will always be there for him, Qui-Gon, he knows that," he resolutely promised to himself and the force, until his last breath Obi-Wan would be at his side when Anakin needed him.

Qui-Gon smiled, "He may need reminding, Padawan, teenage boys are incorrigibly _stubborn_ after all." A subtle barb at Obi-Wan's own past which caused the pair to chuckle lightly.

Obi-Wan's thoughts moved to earlier as he realised curiously that Qui-Gon hadn't even reacted when Obi-Wan had felt the burst of pain from Anakin, it was more than possible that he and Anakin had become so attuned to one another's thoughts and feelings that they were truly the only ones who knew how the other was. Another after effect of their encounter with the Sith. The ongoing conundrum, they had been thrust closer together than ever before and yet Obi-Wan had never felt more distant from his Padawan than he did in the present moment. He had hoped the visions of that harrowing future could be buried but more lately they surfaced more often than not, usually when he and Anakin were embroiled in a dispute of some sort.

"If he cannot control his fear then we both know what could become of him, I would never wish that fate upon anyone let alone Anakin." An air of melancholy threatened to drown the pair as Obi-Wan's statement eradicated what little levity had been remaining.

Qui-Gon squeezed his eyes shut painfully as if he remembered the future they had supposedly altered, the problem with altered futures was that anything could alter it back again. As Qui-Gon had always been very fond of saying - 'the future was always in motion', which of course meant that what they had both seen could still come to pass or even something far worse. When he opened his haunted eyes there was conviction there, an unusual passion rekindling in the depths of the Jedi Master's gaze.

"We won't let it happen, Padawan, we _can't._ "

* * *

Anakin dragged his feet across the threshold and collapsed in a heap on one of the bunks, not bothering to remove his boots before hand. He was exhausted after that ordeal, dead on his feet really. The most tiring task had actually been keeping Obi-Wan out of his mind, he could never let his Master see what he did in that cave, could never let him see the _monster_ his Padawan had become.

He reached into his tunic pocket and removed the very reason behind all of his new found troubles, the saber crystal. He had spent weeks designing and building a saber hilt, pouring hours of dedication into the weapon to make it just right. All of that effort felt useless now after the events of the cave, the saber would forever be haunted by Ilum. Obi-Wan had been right about one thing it was pure and beautiful and most of all it felt like it was his. That's what confused Anakin most of all, how could he deserve such a sacred item after what he did, what he allowed to happen?

Anakin had awoken in tears shaking and trembling with despair and grief on the floor of those caves, clasped tightly in his hand was the saber crystal he had searched so desperately for. He honestly thought the thing would burn him with the darkness he so evidently was capable of, he had rushed out of the cave's without turning back not willing to risk seeing any more vision's. The last lot had almost destroyed him.

Obi-Wan's lifeless body sprung to the forefront of his mind in the moment of weakness forcing Anakin to wipe away hot tears viciously and eradicate the image from his mind before Obi-Wan saw, as much as he tried he couldn't stop looking into his Master's dead unseeing eyes.

"Enough!" Anakin screeched and scrambled to his feet, clasping his saber crystal firmly even as it seared his skin.

He moved over to his rucksack and deposited the crystal carefully but quickly in a container, hand already burned and the damage already done. He hissed in agony as he stared down at the damaged skin, it was like the purity of the crystal had reacted to something within Anakin, the potential for darkness. Anakin accepted this as no more than what he deserved…

His defences must have slipped for a moment as Obi-Wan's insistent questioning invaded his mind, concern over the pain he had just felt through their bond. Anakin quickly threw his Master off the scent and wished that Obi-Wan wouldn't come racing in here, he didn't want to be caught out in this state by Obi-Wan. He didn't want his Master to see what he had become, what he had the _potential_ to become.

Thankfully Obi-Wan stayed put although Anakin could feel his Master's hesitance, perhaps Obi-Wan was already starting to distrust him? Anakin shook away the hurtful feelings from his mind and scolded his thoughts as unfair and unjust. Obi-Wan only wanted to help him, he always had. Anakin was far more unbalanced than he first imagined, he was blaming his Master for something he hadn't done and it was more than unfair.

With a weary sigh Anakin removed his boots and flopped back into bed, covering himself with as many blankets as he could get his hands on as he remembered Obi-Wan's instructions to remain warm to fight off illness. He was just so tired…

Maybe if he got some sleep he could actually think straight, he could work his way through whatever _that_ was in the caves and more importantly he could repair the still-growing rift between he and Obi-Wan. He wanted nothing more than to tell his Master everything but he found he could not, out of fear of Obi-Wan finding him as disgusting as he found himself. He could live with his own harsh judgement, but Obi-Wan's? He knew that would be the final nail in his coffin.

Anakin let sleep wash over him as his exhausted limbs sagged under the bed sheets, he allowed his weary eyes to close and mental shield's to wash away as he succumbed to unconsciousness. Anakin only wished for one thing as he drifted into oblivion, he wished to rest alone for once. He willed to be free of the many nightmares that had plagued him for weeks and caused countless sleepless nights, he wished only to _rest._

* * *

Obi-Wan stared out of the viewport aimlessly and marvelled at the beauty and feeling of hyperspace travel. There did exist a time, when he was a Padawan himself, when hyperspace travel did not agree with him. He simply had not understood what was truly happening on his first few trips, the force always felt _different_ in this dimension convoluted even when one was unprepared. The feeling of travelling in such a state had often left him feeling empty inside, truly feeling space for what it actually was, a void. Of course in time Obi-Wan had become accustomed to the feeling and could even appreciate the difference, the force was still out here it was just a matter of seeing things from a new perspective.

When he travelled in hyperspace it was as though, strangely, the force was even more encompassing, when he delved into it distance no longer had any consequence. He could see and feel things happening on the other side of the galaxy at the same level as he could sense things around the ship, hyperspace eradicated the sheer problems of distance. The problem with being susceptible to everything in the force at once was that for the inexperienced that was precisely what they sensed, unfiltered chaos. This was the main reason many did not choose to mediate too deeply in hyperspace, it took great precision and experience to filter out the white noise and zero in on an exact moment.

Qui-Gon's next query had Obi-Wan lose his focus entirely within the force, voices and feelings piled on top of one another into a large jumble, indistinguishable now that the connection had been lost.

"Have you told any others of the visions?"

He and Qui-Gon had remained in reflective silence after their last discussion over Anakin, it was only natural that his Master identified a topic amongst many which was troubling Obi-Wan.

"I've thought about telling Master Yoda more than once…" Obi-Wan began before trailing off, realising that he didn't actually fully know why he had refrained from informing the Jedi Master.

"But?" Qui-Gon prompted.

"It never seems to be the right time, every time I go to mention it something stops me, a feeling holding me back," Obi-Wan admitted finally after putting in a great deal of thought, he supposed that enough was in itself a good reason. His bad feelings had an uncanny reputation of becoming reality.

"Hmm."

Obi-Wan frowned in confusion, surely Qui-Gon would agree to err on the side of caution?

"You don't agree?"

Qui-Gon stroked his beard in a gesture reminiscent of Obi-Wan's earlier moment, he now realised where he had picked up the action from…

"I did not say that… Only that perhaps he could offer some advice with your's and Anakin's recent problems. Not to mention he must sense you are keeping something from him," Qui-Gon added with a small smirk, there was never any chance that anyone could keep a secret truly from someone as wise as Master Yoda.

"Perhaps," Obi-Wan agreed as he mulled over the thought's. "One thing is certain, if Anakin's situation crumples any further then I may have no choice but to involve Master Yoda."

Qui-Gon did not add anything after the statement, he didn't have to. Actions often spoke louder than words and by Qui-Gon's frown alone he knew that the Jedi Master could see the possibility of Anakin becoming worse, just like he could.

It was true that Yoda suspected something to be amiss, he and the old Master had spent rather a lot of time together recently in their search for answers. They had both spent numerous evenings in deep meditation seeking an answer to Anakin's mysterious actions on Moraband, how the young boy had managed to essentially join conscious' with Obi-Wan and become truly one with the force unlike any Jedi had ever seen before. They hadn't had much luck on discovering the secrets to Anakin's sudden appearance of powers other than that they stemmed purely from the force, from the light side of the force.

Obi-Wan was beginning to believe that they would never find out what had happened that day, Qui-Gon certainly hadn't been very forthcoming recently claiming that he had more to protect than either of them could ever imagine. Obi-Wan was beginning to accept that the force would always work in mysterious ways and that they would not always understand or even begin to understand it's capabilities, one thing was for certain after all of their meditation however. Anakin Skywalker was undoubtedly the chosen one.

He had almost told Yoda everything on more than one occasion, the burden of holding the horrors threatening to drown him entirely. If Yoda had asked he would have surely broken yet the Grand Master never had, it was clear he would not force the issue. If Obi-Wan wanted to bare his darkest secrets then it would be on his terms, Obi-Wan didn't know honestly if he could live with himself if he ever showed another soul what he had seen. He would be sealing that person's fate to countless nightmares, undue worry and unimaginable pain.

With the way Anakin had changed however Obi-Wan felt the pull to tell Yoda more persistently than ever, he could really do with another's advice if they were to avoid the worst, if he were to avert making the same mistakes again. It was true that he could be over reacting because of his extra knowledge but one thing was for certain, his Padawan had changed. If the situation with Anakin did not improve soon then he would have no choice but to involve Yoda, he would not fail his Padawan again.

A sharp stabbing pain brought Obi-Wan out of his reverie sharpish, he clutched his head as another dizzying wave hit.

"Obi-Wan, what's wrong?"

He looked at Qui-Gon's worried face confusedly, surely his Master must have felt that?

"Arghhh…" He ground his teeth together as his head pounded under the fresh assault, it was Anakin.

Qui-Gon's pained expression informed Obi-Wan that he was not the only one to feel the latest wave, he signalled for Obi-Wan to go and see to his hurting Padawan whilst he would watch over the ship. Obi-Wan rushed out of the cockpit with due haste as another wave of misery washed through him, reinforcing mental shielding Obi-Wan rocketed to his Padawan's aid.

"No… Mum… Stop!" Anakin mumbled incoherently as nightmares and visions fought to tear apart what little sanity he had left.

Anakin writhed in agony as he desperately attempted to block out the screams of his tortured mother, the screeching of dying children and explosions of never ending wars. Armies raged onwards in his mind as he watched the galaxy rip itself apart piece by piece, there were flashes of great wars with huge loss, an image of a devastating weapon the size of a small planet and flames engulfing everything he had ever loved.

"No, Master!" He screamed as once again Obi-Wan was cut down by his evil elder self, this time Obi-Wan had looked him right in the eyes when he was murdered. A question dying on his lips never to be spoken, 'How could you do this, Anakin?'

He threw his hands over his eyes to stop the images from coming but that didn't stop the haunting sounds which only served to rise in volume after his blindness.

 _"Anakin, you're a good person don't do this…Anakin, help me!…Execute order 66…I hate you!…You are fulfilling your destiny… I have brought peace, freedom, justice and security to my new empire… Anakin, I don't know you anymore… Get on with it… As you wish… I see through the lies of the Jedi… You're breaking my heart… I do not fear the dark side as you do… Henceforth you shall be known as… Darth Vader…"_

"Anakin!" His eyes shot open and he pushed hard against whoever was next to him, throwing everything he had left in his weary bones at the intruder.

"Padawan, stop it's Obi-Wan." Anakin viciously shut out the voice, kicking and thrashing wildly as the tears continued to flow freely down his face, his breath coming in deep gulps as his heart threatened to race out of his chest.

He yelled out as arms tried to encompass his thrashing limbs again, bearing down a pressure on his will to _relax_. Whoever this person was they were certainly persistent. Anakin didn't stop fighting the heavy weight even as his limbs grew weary under the force suggestion, he could still be stuck in those awful nightmares for all he knew.

Soon he felt warm breath brush past his ear, the body pressed down upon him leaned into speak softly. "Anakin, you're safe."

It was like the words broke whatever spell he was under, he stopped struggling immediately and found his limbs grow as heavy as lead. Anakin sniffled as the tears continued to roll down his face, his throat hoarse from screaming. Soon the heavy weight holding his limbs lifted and Anakin looked up into his Master's _very_ worried looking face.

"Are you really you?" Anakin almost couldn't manage words, tone cracking with heavy emotions as fear threatened to engulf him.

"Yes it's me, Padawan, I'm here." Obi-Wan pulled him into a crushing embrace and rocked him as he cried his heart out, stroked his back as his young body shook uncontrollably.

Anakin fell into the comfort and hid his embarrassment in Obi-Wan's tunics as he fought to calm his over zealous heart beat, he kept mental shield's excruciatingly high as the thought of Obi-Wan seeing any part of this almost killed him. He couldn't help but be reminded by his mother as Obi-Wan held him lovingly, of course this train of thought brought on a fresh wave of tears.

When the storm had mostly passed and Anakin had managed to ground himself back in the here and now, Obi-Wan pulled away reluctantly to get a better look at his Padawan. Anakin stared at the floor under the scrutiny, he was far too mortified to meet Obi-Wan's gaze.

"How long have you been having nightmares?" Obi-Wan questioned quietly, wincing as Anakin flinched visibly at the question.

He did not want to cause his Padawan anymore undue stress but this did not look like the first time that Anakin had undergone such an experience. When he had rushed into the room what greeted him shook Obi-Wan to his very core, he had never seen such violent nightmares effect somebody and had genuinely feared for Anakin's physical wellbeing. If he hadn't effectively jumped on his Padawan the boy could have have really hurt himself.

Obi-Wan winced as he shifted position to sit beside Anakin who he noticed had not let go of his tunic, the poor boy was petrified to lose contact. He could feel livid bruises forming beneath his clothing from Anakin's wild defence but hid their existence expertly from his apprentice, he did not want to add to the boy's guilt for something which was not his fault. His anxiety grew the longer Anakin remained silent, the lack of an answer was in itself very illuminating. Anakin had definitely been suffering from this and had _hidden_ it from him, Obi-Wan released his own hurt into the force realising that Anakin needed his full and undivided attention now.

"On and off for a few weeks," Anakin eventually mumbled meekly, head still hanging low in shame.

Obi-Wan sighed in frustration, mostly at himself. How could he have missed this for so long? This would more than explain Anakin's tiredness of late and not to mention his change in behaviour. Visions could be a very harrowing experience especially persistent ones.

"You should have come to me, Anakin, I could have helped."

Swift defence flashed in the boy's eyes, there was a good reason why he had not come to Obi-Wan. The cogs clicked into place as he realised why Anakin would keep this from him, _he_ was in them.

"They involve me don't they?" He questioned incredulously deeply wishing that the visions his young charge had seen did not resemble any that Qui-Gon had shown him, if that truly were the case then Obi-Wan did not know how to help Anakin. He hadn't even been able to help himself in those regards and more often than not dreamed of the horrifying events at nights, they had both been lacking of sleep lately it seemed.

"Some of them…" Anakin shamefully admitted, not willing to go into more detail in such a fragile state.

Obi-Wan pulled his Padawan closer as another wave of awful tremors passed through his small frame, kicking himself mentally for not being able to spot his apprentice's torment sooner, for not being able to keep away the horrifying visions that plagued his Padawan's mind night after night.

"Anakin, I am your Master. I have a responsibility to you and you must know by now that I take it very seriously. Simply put I care about you, Ani, I always will."

The words seemed to ease some of the tension in Anakin's body, not all but it was certainly a good start. He even looked as though he may open up…

"The vision's I saw in there… was that the future?" Anakin's voice trembled as he asked the most pressing query on the mind, Obi-Wan deduced that he wanted some reassurance that the horrors would not come true.

"The future is always in motion, Padawan, nothing is set in stone." He lifted the boy's chin so their eye's met. " _You_ control your own destiny, Anakin."

Being this close to Anakin's face he now noticed the dark rings under his young charge's eyes, it was obvious to anyone how run down Anakin was. After a good night's rest they could hopefully move forward and finally put their demons to bed, leaving them in the past where they belonged.

Some of the apprentice's pent up emotion seemed to release as his addled brain finally saw perhaps a way forward, a way to not get lost in the visions and destiny. Obi-Wan knew how hard it could to be to fight against destiny, against fate but it could be done. He would help Anakin achieve what Qui-Gon had done, to change the future.

As Anakin flinched, most likely from yet _another_ memory, Obi-Wan sighed. He frowned as he witnessed first hand just how relentless these visions were. He grieved over the ramifications of this latest trial, the visions in the caves had more than likely resembled his Padawan's nightmares. This would be a rather large milestone for them to overcome, Obi-Wan did not relish the challenge in the slightest this would be hard on the both of them. But for now…

"You're exhausted, Padawan, we can talk more about this all tomorrow after you get some real _rest_."

Anakin's grip on his tunic tightened into a death clench as unimaginable fear gripped him, he was terrified of being caught up in the nightmares again or any resemblance of them. No wonder he had hardly gotten any true sleep for so long.

"I can keep them away, Anakin, don't worry." Obi-Wan placated his young apprentice as his fear threatened to drown him.

"You can?" Anakin's tone was unsure, wary.

Obi-Wan smiled gently before levering himself to lay down beside his Padawan, knowing the death grip on his tunic would not be released anytime soon.

"Do you trust me?" Obi-Wan half teased.

Anakin looked affronted for half a second before his terror overtook his features again. "You know I do, Master."

Obi-Wan placed his free hand on Anakin's forehead and induced _calmness,_ not so subtly either.

"Then _sleep,_ Padawan."

The heavy loaded force suggestion crashed and overtook the exhausted Padawan's mind, he went as limp as a sack of potatoes upon the bed, eyes closing immediately. Obi-Wan loosened himself from the Padawan's grip as his hand slowly lost it's strength on his tunic, he sat beside Anakin's bedside as he kept up his will on the stubborn apprentice.

He spied the twisted Padawan's braid and went about re-plaiting the messy hair into some accordance of order, smiling gently at the nostalgia it brought on. His fingers met Anakin's first marker and his face sobered as he remembered just why his Padawan had earned it, a trial of spirit after their first mission. Anakin's confusion to the receipt of his first marker was rather comical at the time, after fighting the Sith themselves his Padawan found it hard to believe that he had earned such a token. Thinking back now Obi-Wan was sure that these nightmares haunting his Padawan had been partly been brought on by actions from that mission, ramifications which neither of them had foreseen. Dooku, Ventress, the Sith. They all still haunted the pair of them.

He kept up his vigil and cocooned Anakin's mind from the outside world so that the Padawan would have a chance to rest, perhaps properly for the first time in weeks. Obi-Wan felt guilty for not seeing the problem before now, he would definitely keep a closer eye on the Padawan from now on. He brushed away swirling darkness as they were attracted to Anakin's mind, it was as though the boy was indeed a magnet for the evil thoughts and memories.

Anakin slept peacefully as Obi-Wan protected and guarded his mind from any lingering evil, from any haunting visions that stemmed from the force. It was more than worrying that there was so much activity stemming from the force surrounding Anakin, and that most of that activity drew it's power directly from the dark side.

As Obi-Wan sat protectively beside his Padawan he couldn't help but shake the growing 'bad feeling' he was getting about the not so distant future, about his and Anakin's future to be exact. As he looked into the force surrounding his apprentice he saw a crossroad's of sorts, two paths which could be taken with very different outcomes. Anakin was swiftly approaching another trial and that fact petrified Obi-Wan as he knew they were not ready, he knew more than anyone just how _much_ was at stake and couldn't help but feel the unfairness of shouldering such a burden on exceedingly young shoulders.

Dark shadow's loomed over all of them, the entire galaxy and each and every decision. The shadows of the future, the shadows of Vader…

* * *

 **Okay so that's the prologue to the story well and truly finished, I will be attempting to speed my schedule up slightly but as I said earlier my work load is pretty heavy at the moment!**

 **Until next time...**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N - So so sorry about the delay, sent it off to my beta reader too late! oopsie! Hope you're all still enjoying the story! I will leave you to it.**

* * *

 _1 month later_

Anakin walked briskly away from his last class of the day, exhausted from the sheer exercise and mental work he had been forced to achieve in his studies. The last session had lasted for over 3 hours and was one of Anakin's worst subjects in the entire curriculum, advanced calculus. Give him astrophysics, piloting, mechanical engineering any day or of course light saber training but calculus was as dull as dishwater. It was for this precise reason that Anakin was in a hurry to return to the sanctuary of his and Obi-Wan's apartment, was the reason why he felt a tad agitated and dangerously why his mind was wandering.

Because he was not paying attention to his direction or surroundings, Anakin soon found himself on a route seldom used; a wide walkway looking over one of the many hanger bays dotted around the temple. He started as soon as he realised that his feet had absently carried him off course and glanced around for a familiar exit. Even after all these years in the temple he still found areas he had not seen before, he still had the ability to get irrevocably _lost._

He quickly worked out his bearings and calculated that if he carried on with his current path then he would end up rejoining the main corridor back to the residential area in no time. At least this route appeared to be barely used, there wasn't much foot traffic at all which suited Anakin's mood well.

When Anakin looked forward again his sight was blinded by a dazzling bright light, it flashed over the entire area before the surroundings were plunged into darkness. His hand strayed to his newly assembled weapon, the crystal inside serving to ground him in the here and now. In the next second any wisps of fear were eradicated and released into the force and his critical eye swept over the surroundings to catch any insight over what had caused the disturbance he could now feel in abundance in the force.

Soon the light was returned to the corridor but Anakin could tell immediately something was wrong, very wrong. The lights flickered insistently as explosions rocked the walls, echoing throughout the force as well as the surroundings. The wall's shook and rubble fell in clumps as more blasts hit the ancient temples foundations. Machinery and ships below were engulfed in flames, burning and melting under the intense heat.

Anakin shielded his eyes as a ship exploded far below him which caused an enormous fire ball to reach his decking level, the heat was almost unbearable. Panic gripped his heart as he caught sight of somebody entering his corridor, as he heard the echoes of boots slapping against the creaking floor, as the men in white reigned down chaos around him.

He felt someone running behind him and twirled just in time to witness Jedi running flat out towards him, _through him._ Anakin shivered as his mind realised that the two Padawan's had just pelted straight through him as if he wasn't even there, onwards towards the white soldiers with saber's held high.

'The visions…' He muttered to himself as he horrifyingly worked out this was not his universe, not his time. Not yet at least.

He now recognised the soldiers clad head to toe in white armour from his nightmares, they were always reigning down terror and death, they were the death of the Jedi. Anakin found his feet move of their own accord as he ran with the Padawan's straight into the enemy, hearing blaster fire ricocheting of saber's down below. He also heard the unmistakable sound of so many bodies hitting the floor and hoped they were not Jedi but knowing they most likely were, he had seen the result of this vision after all.

He reached the soldier's just after his fellow Jedi as another explosion rocked the halls and almost had him flat on his face, the temple was under attack from the outside and in. The blaster fire from the soldier's wasn't aimed at him, they didn't seem to be aware of his presence so any shots that he went to deflect not only went straight through his blade but also cut straight through him.

The Padawan's were only young not much older than himself, they fought valiantly against the ever growing number of soldiers but Anakin saw their end probably before they did.

"No!" He screamed at the faceless men as both boy's fell under the increased fire, their bodies jerking as hundreds of bolts hit them.

The soldiers didn't stop firing until the Jedi hit the floor unnecessary cruelness as it was obvious they were already dead, cruelly and brutally murdered in a senseless act. The boy's extinguished saber hilt's rolled away from their limp fingers and their head's lolled to stare lifelessly up at Anakin, who stood shocked and shaking with growing hatred. How could anyone be so cruel? These boys were only children!

He roared a guttural cry and raced towards the soldier's saber cutting through only air as he reached the already advancing men, not stopping the action until he was exhausted even though he know it was fruitless. The soldier's ran further away along the corridor and ignored the yelling boy who wanted to murder them all, cut them all down for destroying his home and plaguing his mind with such horrors.

Anakin leaned against the wall as hot tears stained his cheeks, his legs felt wobbly as he felt more tremors rock the halls and heard the endless screams of the dying. He stole one last glance at the slain Padawan's before pelting away himself, willing with all of his might for the vision to stop and to be back in his own time away from all this sorrow and destruction. He had thought the nightmares were bad enough but having them appear so vividly like this in the day? If this carried on he would surely go insane, there were already moments when he had to question which reality he was in.

He raced onwards past desperately battling Jedi and countless explosions as the temple was reduced to rubble a bit at a time, he shut out as many things as he could not wanting to add to his already haunting nightmares anymore. There was _death_ everywhere here, it clung to everything. Anakin finally reached what would be the main corridor, now it was almost unrecognisable. The corridor lay in ruins and was enveloped in darkness when the lights inevitably failed, the only luminance originating from fire.

He choked back a cry as he saw bodies strewn along the stretch of the corridor, as he looked down and realised the slippery substance he had been standing in was in fact blood. Why was the force making him witness such a thing?

As he looked around the bodies he could already tell it was too late, their skin was still warm but their eyes were all vacant their life essence ripped away far before their time. Anakin felt sick to his stomach at the sight, he felt as if he could cry no more over the atrocities the force insisted on showing him. He slipped to the ground as he felt tear's prickling regardless, pulling his knees up to his chest and refusing to look at anymore of this vision. He was sick of all of it, he wanted no part in any of it.

A sound had him instinctively glance towards one end of the corridor, the sound of marching boots. A legion of soldiers made their way towards him with one man leading them onward, one very familiar man. Anakin's breath caught in his throat and he found it hard to breathe as he recognised the leader of the pack, a man who still had the audacity to wield the sacred weapon of the Jedi as he massacred his friends, his _family_. He looked into the ex-Jedi's eyes and saw only hatred there, engulfed by anger and the dark side to transform to a deadly yellow. The vision finally started to ebb away as Anakin Skywalker raised his saber to end the life of his younger self, manic glint in his gaze with no hint of remorse.

"Skywalker!"

Anakin jumped violently as he felt a physical presence shove his shoulder and felt the force signatures of numerous beings around him, he spun around on the spot taking in his surroundings and potential assailant's in micro-seconds. He was in the main corridor, it seemed his travelling in the vision hadn't been just in his mind, also he was no longer alone and in the future. People could definitely see him judging from the looks of his fellow Jedi, also from the wetness on his cheeks it would appear he _had_ cried for real. The worst part of all however was that the last person he would have wanted to see him in this weak state had.

He fiercely wiped away the remnants of tears from his cheeks and put some distance between himself and the fellow initiate, Adrian Khanbei. There was concern in some of the other faces surrounding him, not from Adrain though his eyes only held suspicion. He and Anakin were not famous for getting along at all, they had a rivalry of sorts and Anakin knew for certain that Adrian was jealous that he had a Master at such a young age. The rest of the initiates had to hope a Master would see their potential where as with Anakin's case he had arrived at the temple a Padawan, Adrian was one of the few that made his disdain for Anakin and his 'chosen one' status known.

Anakin gulped as Adrian's eyes narrowed at him, recognising the scrutinising gaze which made him feel very uncomfortable.

"I called your name _three_ times," Adrain accused, his tone laced with misgiving.

"I'm sorry my mind was… elsewhere." He finally decided on an excuse and turned to leave, not willing to get caught up in yet another argument with an initiate, Obi-Wan would murder him if he ever found out.

It would seem fate however was not feeling so kind towards Anakin Skywalker that day. He was forced to halt in his tracks again as a hand gripped his arm, effectively ceasing any attempts of retreating.

"You've been doing that more since _that_ mission, what happened to you out there, Skywalker?"

Anakin reluctantly looked back at Adrian as he kept him in the corridor, he wanted nothing more than to get back home and _rest_. The visions as always had taken everything out of him. Adrain knew as well as anyone that the details regarding the mission were classified, that didn't stop him constantly pestering Anakin for details however, judging from the inquisitive expressions from the surrounding initiates he was not the only curious one.

"You know that's classified, Adrain," He tiredly replied managing to successfully pull his arm from the other boy's grip and back away somewhat.

Quick offence flashed in the other boy's eyes, something which Anakin could easily recognise as annoyance, or anger. Anakin didn't need to read the boy's mind to know how sick he was of that answer, well tough it was the only one he would be getting from him.

"There are rumours that an ex-Jedi was involved, somebody who fell to the dark side. Why won't the Council tell us? We deserve to know." There was a mutter of agreement as Adrian spoke, Anakin did sympathise with their need for information but that was quite clearly not what Adrain was after, he wanted to stir the pot.

This was not the first time that Adrian or somebody had pestered him for information, after Dooku's capture the whole mission had become gossip around the temple. Anakin had long since grown tired of the constant questions, he only wanted to be left _alone_ as before.

"You'll have to ask the Council," Anakin replied steadily, already backing up further ready to escape. Adrian of course noticed his subtle retreat.

"There are rumours that _you_ succumbed to the dark, it won't be long before they chuck you out of this place." The boy sneered at Anakin.

Suddenly the atmosphere turned frosty as the chilling words cut through to everyone, silence reigned down as the crowd waited on tender hooks for Anakin's reaction. He breathed in and out slowly as the provocative words cut through him, he could see what Adrain was doing. If he could show that Anakin would lose control then he would be proving his lies in the best way, that is what they were after all Anakin had never turned to the dark side. His future was another question all together from the nightmares he was having, there was no way he would bring that up with Adrian of all people however.

"Goodbye, Adrain." He swallowed down any other angry retort and swivelled to leave the corridor once and for all, allowing the hurtful words to bounce off his armour without leaving too much damage. Much worse had been said about him by far worse people than Adrain, there was nothing more than Adrain wanted than a reaction so Anakin decided not to give him one.

"Of course we all know your Master is dark, the coward _begged_ to be taken back by the Jedi after the Council defeated the Sith." Adrian drew out his words and allowed a smirk to pull at his lips as he saw the effect they were having on Anakin who had all but frozen in his retreat. "You're both traitors!"

As Adrian yelled his last damning insult the muttering that had increased recently suddenly stopped, the corridor became so quiet that one might even hear a pin drop. In the next instant Anakin simply exploded and turned on Adrain, launching into the air in the next micro-second fist's already swinging towards his target.

Anakin distantly heard his outcry of rage as his fist connected with Adrian's shocked face, perhaps the boy had not anticipated such a violent reaction. What did he expect after insulting Obi-Wan? After questioning his Master's loyalties there was no other action that Anakin could take, Adrian could insult his honour any day but to insult Obi-Wan so publicly? That could not stand.

Adrian crumpled beneath the powerful blow falling backwards into a roll as his reflexes caught up with him, soon Adrian was launching an attack of his own as the excited crowd jeered the boys onwards. Anakin dodged Adrain's first assault and responded in kind with another jab to the face, he was rewarded with the sound of a sickening crunch and knew immediately Adrain's nose was broken. Bright crimson decorated the walls and floor as Adrian's head snapped to the side from the impact, Anakin saw the same fire raging in the boys gaze as he faced his rival.

They circled one another blood pumping in equal distaste of the other, the surroundings and Jedi fell away as the boy's entered into a scrap again. It was almost like tunnel vision Anakin surmised as he only saw his enemy, he lost all focus on surroundings and sounds the only thing that mattered was teaching Adrian a _lesson_. No one would insult his Master and get away with it.

Both boy's fell to the floor with a grunt as each of them tried to ground the other, the impact was a hard one and had Anakin's bones jar from the impact. They wrestled for dominance landing the odd blow to each other's midriff in the chaos, wild rage had overtaken the pair as they strove to do the other serious damage. Anakin couldn't help but feel _good_ as he drew on his anger to make his hits hurt for longer, as he watched Adrian squirm beneath his hold covered in his own blood.

"Arghhh!" Anakin screamed in outrage as Adrian's elbow collided with his nose powerfully, the blow was hard enough to cause the bones to crush and blood to spurt out over his tunics.

The reflexive action to grip his damaged nose meant that Adrian was able to scamper out of his hold and away from Anakin, he rose to his feet and was just about to deliver a stinging kick to Anakin's ribs when Anakin held out a hand to deliver a desperate force push. The effect was instantaneous, as the power slammed into Adrian his feet left the floor and he was sailing backwards in the air. Anakin used his opponent's flooring to his advantage and leapt to his feet ready to rush back into the fray and pay back Adrian in kind for the broken nose the boy had delivered. Before Anakin could take another step he felt restraining arms grab his own, multiple Jedi were attempting to hold back his advance even as he struggled to get to his target.

Adrian too was held back on his side of the circle but like Anakin did not cease with his struggling, that was until a booming voice stopped everyone in their tracks. Anakin saw true fear cross Adrian's face as he realised they had been caught by a Master, fighting in the sacred halls and worse of all giving themselves as _slaves_ to negative emotions, to the dark.

"What in the hell's do you think you two are doing?!"

Anakin recognised the voice immediately it had the effect of not only stopping him from struggling to reach his target but also of eradicating his rage and murderous thoughts towards Adrian, mostly he felt embarrassed to be seen in such a state by someone who he respected immensely. His racing heart slowed as his mind truly registered what he had just done, what he had _allowed_ to happen. It was just like in his nightmares where he was powerless to stop the violence, the fact that was actually making Anakin sick however was the knowledge that he had enjoyed beating Adrian to a pulp and he knew he shouldn't.

The imposing form of Siri Tachi moved to stand between the two, scrutinising gaze landing on the pair causing them to lower their heads in disgrace. Anakin caught the pitying look crossing the Jedi Master's face when she recognised him, it made his guilt grow tremendously.

"Anakin…" She muttered sadly before dismissing the crowd with a curt look, it did not take long before it was only the 3 of them remaining plus whoever was still restraining Anakin.

"Let him go, Ferus." Siri ordered as she continued to glare fiercely at the two trouble makers.

Anakin felt the arms encircling his waist retreat and he was thankfully allowed to breathe freely, Ferus Olin stepped forward into Anakin's sight line still watching his fellow Padawan cautiously. Anakin did not like the look Ferus was throwing his way one bit, Siri's Padawan had always held some disdain for Anakin just as many did. That feeling had evidently grown by the way he was looking at Anakin now though, he was staring at the Padawan as if he were no better than dirt. The demeaning stare had Anakin's rage spike again which he had to fight to bring under control, he was already in enough trouble as it was without tangling with Ferus also. Although he imagined the Padawan wouldn't stoop to his level, he was rumoured to be the _perfect_ Padawan.

"Now I don't know what sparked this behaviour and quite frankly I don't care, this is not how Jedi behave," Siri admonished the troublemakers sternly. "You _both_ know that."

Anakin felt his cheeks flush as the embarrassment of the situation finally caught up with his mind, Obi-Wan would surely murder him now. Siri looked between the now meek boy's and shook her head, sighing in despair.

"Initiate Kanbei, get yourself off to the healer's, I will be informing your clan Master of this incident."

Adrian winced as Siri reminded him that these actions would have far reaching consequence's, Anakin wouldn't be the only one getting a thorough talking to by a Master.

"Yes, Master," Adrian mumbled meekly before hurriedly bowing and scurrying off as fast as his legs would carry him.

With the other initiate out of the picture Anakin became Siri's sole target, she strode over to his position and looked down at him sadly. Anakin found that he couldn't meet her gaze and knew that these actions were cowardly, he felt an overwhelming amount of shame engulf him as Siri continued her inspection. She reached out a hand to examine his jaw and nose, Anakin hissed sharply as she prodded his broken bones. He felt her pity and hoped that it would be enough to spare him a dreadful fate, of course the odds were not in his favour with Obi-Wan and Siri being as close as they were. Eventually she sighed deeply before seemingly coming to a decision, a death sentence in Anakin's case.

"Come on, Skywalker, your Master will want to hear all about this one." Anakin dropped his gaze to the floor entirely as Siri turned him around and started walking towards their quarters, how in the force was he going to explain this incident to Obi-Wan?

As Anakin was marched towards his death sentence he couldn't help but reflect on the fight with Adrian and decided that if he were presented with a do-over he would choose the exact same action again. He felt no remorse over hurting Adrian, in his mind the other boy deserved what he got and more. As Anakin walked further towards his end he realised chillingly that not only did he feel no remorse for his actions, he had actually _enjoyed_ them. Terrifyingly his vision's were slowly coming true.

* * *

Obi-Wan tore his gaze away from a rather intriguing article when the front door chimed, he smiled as he recognised the signature's belonging to Siri and Anakin only frowning when he felt the remnants of anger clinging to his Padawan and above all he felt pain. He strolled swiftly to the door and opened it with a flick of his wrist to admit an apologetic looking Siri and a Padawan covered in his own blood, that would explain the pain then.

"What…" He began before Siri interrupted knowing exactly what he was going to ask.

"I stopped a fight in the hallways between Anakin and initiate Kanbei, things were getting quite out of hand, Obi-Wan."

As soon as Siri mentioned the word 'fight' Obi-Wan's glare fell on his Padawan who was studying something rather inconsequential upon his boots by the looks of things, he now also knew where the residual anger had appeared from. Anakin had lost control of his emotions _again._

"Is this true, Padawan?" He asked sternly forcing the boy to meet his gaze with a not so subtle force suggestion.

"Yes, Master, but I didn't start it…" Anakin stopped mumbling as soon as he caught Obi-Wan's warning glare, followed by an interruption.

"Enough, Anakin, I don't want to hear it."

Obi-Wan felt his own irritation rise as anger flashed across Anakin's face again, the boy was becoming worse at keeping his turbulent emotions in check by the day. The subject was causing more discord between the pair and Obi-Wan regrettably saw this side of Anakin more often than not, the side which reminded him so painfully of the visions Qui-Gon had shown him, of a future shrouded in darkness.

He sighed as his Padawan's anger did not abate, they were overdue a long conversation it seemed. "Go and clean yourself up, Padawan."

For one horrifying second Obi-Wan actually thought that Anakin would snap there and then, that he would utter one of his harsh responses which Obi-Wan could feel behind Anakin's compromised shields. He held his ground against the rebellious Padawan who only scowled before pushing past Obi-Wan towards the fresher, muttering obscenities under his breath as he went.

Obi-Wan's mind flashed back to the visions, only for a second but it was enough to take his breath away. It was just like he had seen then, Anakin did not listen to him anymore. He squeezed his eyes shut to center himself, holding back the tears he could feel prickling. He hated the rift that had opened between he and Anakin, Obi-Wan wished more than anything for the innocent boy back, the boy he loved. He looked longingly after Anakin as he swept into the fresher and away, kicking an object out of his flight path in the process aggressively.

Instead of feeling anger at his Padawan's blatant disrespect he only felt despair, simple raw pain at the loss he was witnessing. Anakin was travelling a very precarious path and if he should fall… The resultant was not worth thinking about.

He turned back to Siri who held an anxious expression of her own, worry for him and for Anakin. After all these years Obi-Wan could read his child hood friend's concerns as easy as his own, he could also see shock in her eyes and understood the emotion. Siri hadn't seen Anakin since their last mission, he had changed so much since then. Too much.

"Oh, Obi, I'm sorry." She lifted a hand to gently wipe away his tears.

He relished the touch and took comfort in her gentleness and compassion, Obi-Wan gripped her hand in his own and revelled in the joyous feeling. For a few moments all of his problems with Anakin fell away and all that mattered was Siri, they locked eyes in mutual sorrow that this was the only comfort she could give him, only for a second but enough to register.

"Thank you for bringing him to me." He whispered as more tears threatened to spill, his defences all but fell away around Siri and everything he had been bottling up since Ilum was threatening to collapse under the strain.

Anakin had been reluctant to open up to him after that mission, only giving up snippets of information about the visions horrifying him if Obi-Wan _really_ pushed. Their relationship as of late had become strained to put it lightly. Now his Padawan had been in yet another fight, it only proved that Obi-Wan's actions so far to instruct Anakin on the pitfalls of emotions had only fallen on deaf ears. If Anakin couldn't learn to keep control of his emotions then they were all doomed, one as powerful as he on the wrong side… Well Obi-Wan had regrettably already seen the consequence of that.

"What are you going to do, Ben?"

Obi-Wan let her go of her hand reluctantly and pulled away from her comfort, he would have to figure that out for himself and pronto. Anakin was still in a self destructive mood based on the emotions he could feel even from here, how was he supposed to get through to him this time?

He laughed sadly, knowing if he didn't he would simply cry again. "I truly don't know, Siri."

Force he hadn't realised how weak he sounded, how unbalanced he felt because of Anakin's failings. They all knew that the failing of the student was a failing in the teachings, there was only one to blame really and he knew it fell upon him. She looked upon him sadly as she felt his internal pain and with the knowledge that she did not how to fix the situation either. Obi-Wan bid his life-long friend farewell with an affectionate embrace before preparing himself to confront Anakin, Siri turned just before leaving the apartment imparting one last promise.

"If you need anything, Obi-Wan, you know where I'll be."

With that she was gone.

Obi-Wan felt every year his age as he dragged himself reluctantly towards the fresher, he could feel the disturbance growing inside and wished that it would not come to this. It was too late however, far too late. He would have to face his wayward apprentice head on, ignoring the regard for their already stretched relationship. It was time Anakin told him the truth and faced up to the problems, Obi-Wan had been coddling the Padawan for too long.

With a deep breath Obi-Wan forcibly opened the fresher door and confronted his worst fear, the fear of seeing his Padawan so hate-filled. As soon as he entered Anakin whipped round into a defensive posture, the blood which had been sticking to his face now all but washed clean. Obi-Wan saw that the nose was quite clearly broken and had to fight to keep a feeling of pity grounded, the emotion would not make this confrontation any easier.

"Is there something you wanted to tell me, Padawan?" His tone was irritated at best and from the flash of defence in Anakin's eyes the Padawan could tell this was not going to be a friendly conversation.

"Is there any point?" Anakin began bitterly taking several steps towards Obi-Wan in an openly aggressive move. "You never listen to me anyway…"

"Enough, Padawan!" Obi-Wan barked, he was sick of the disrespect. "I am your Master and you will show me some respect."

Anakin stumbled slightly before finding his footing and passion again, Obi-Wan could sense the retort before it was even muttered. It almost broke his resolve.

"Yes, _Master_." Anakin was right up in his face now, their noses only inches apart as he uttered the usually endearing term disgracefully.

He spat the word as if it were the vilest huttese curse out there, as if he were speaking to one of his old slave Master's. Obi-Wan would be lying if he said it didn't hurt, he kept his wounded feelings guarded behind his strongest shields already regretting stepping one foot inside this damned fresher. Obi-Wan breathed in deeply and allowed the force to take his damaging emotions, there was already enough hostility in the air stemming from Anakin.

"Padawan, you know better than anyone the dangers of giving into one's emotions. Especially in combat."

Anakin reacted to the calming force suggestion Obi-Wan was projecting, he took a step away from Obi-Wan and adjusted his stance so it was no longer aggressive. Obi-Wan took it as a sign that he was perhaps listening. He caught a flash of guilt behind his Padawan's shields which was a very good sign, there were parts of Anakin which knew exactly what he did was wrong and was remorseful for it. Obi-Wan simply had to reach those parts of his Padawan, before they disappeared entirely.

"These emotions stem from the nightmares, the visions are affecting you, Anakin. It's time you shared _all_ of them with me so we can start to move past them."

He stepped forward imposingly willing that Anakin would succumb to his force suggestion and offer no resistance, fate was not so kind to Obi-Wan. Fire reignited behind his Padawan's eyes as he registered the foreign force suggestion and batted it away violently, not appreciating the attempt of forcing his cooperation. Obi-Wan felt his apprentice's temper flare behind shield's and knew that the boy was not releasing anything into the force anymore, strangely he could feel Anakin's fondness for the emotion.

"How can _you_ lecture me on visions when you don't share your own?!" Obi-Wan stopped in his tracks, shell-shocked by the statement. "You cannot even help yourself so you have no chance of helping me…"

Obi-Wan found he was speechless for quite some time, he had no inkling that Anakin had found out about his own visions. What had the boy seen? This was very dangerous ground for the both of them and for the umpteenth time in weeks Obi-Wan felt way out of his depth.

"Anakin, I don't know what you're talking about…" He was interrupted rather violently by Anakin.

"Liar!" The boy screamed as the room shook from the force, containers exploding and crashing to the floor in an immense display of power. "You hypocrite!" He yelled at Obi-Wan before rocketing out of the fresher towards his own room.

Obi-Wan stood there shocked and frozen as he heard Anakin's own door slam shut, most likely jammed from his side by now. He felt like his feet were stuck to the ground, he couldn't move couldn't think. The only images running through his head were from the nightmares he had every night, of that Anakin screaming at his Master just like his Anakin had. Yelling at his Master with such hatred and vehemence that it had effectively taken Obi-Wan's breath away, a loss of control so huge that Anakin had literally caused half the fresher to explode.

Obi-Wan blinked the remnants of the vision away as he took in the ruined fresher, shutting his eyes as a rather vivid image of Vader found it's way to the forefront of his mind. The Sith's body language screamed hatred at the very Jedi who stood in his way, Obi-Wan. He could not help but see the comparison's between this _monster_ and the young man which had just left so harshly. It broke his heart.

He felt warm tears trickle down his cheeks as he stared round at the destruction caused by Anakin, as he could still feel the wake his Padawan had left and most of all felt the stinging truth behind the apprentice's words. He had meant what he said, every word.

Obi-Wan held his head in his hands as the tremors raged through his body, as the grief welled up inside his very soul. He felt unequivocally helpless as one question remained above all else, one question which he did not for the life of him know the answer to.

 _'What am I going to do about, Anakin?'_

* * *

 **A/N - So things aren't getting much better for our favourite duo, you'll have to wait until the next instalment to find out how this one turns out! Thanks for reading.**

 **Until next time...**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N - So so sorry it's been this long but work has been piling up at uni yet again! Thankyou for the continued interest! Anyways hope you enjoy this chapter :)**

* * *

Obi-Wan found his knees give way under the overloading strain of grief, from the overwhelming feelings that he was unequivocally out of his depth. He slid slowly to the ruined fresher floor as his mind was repeatedly assaulted by the waves of anger radiating from Anakin, they were so powerful that they served to drown out anything and everything else in the claustrophobic apartment.

With his eyes still shut against the world Obi-Wan battled with his own raging demons, the countless memories his Padawan had just unburied were threatening to spill over into the real world. Each time he attempted to re center himself Obi-Wan found the task impossible, all he could hear was Anakin's shouting in his mind.

"Liar! Hypocrite!"

The worst thing of all however was that the boy had fully meant what he said, Obi-Wan had felt the conviction slamming into him along with the rage. He wouldn't have needed to be a force sensitive to _feel_ the hatred. Anakin was changing and Obi-Wan had seen what the result of these changes were, Vader.

Before he could squash the careless thought track properly dozens of images flashed through his mind, a white armoured men lead by Anakin, the yellow eyes and of course the blonde haired boy burning in flames on a far away world. The flashes of the future had haunted his dreams ever since Qui-Gon had shown him the images, Obi-Wan wished he had never asked to see the horrifying memories. Whenever he dreamed them they were always so vivid, always so real.

He felt more tears threaten as he witnessed the resultant of Vader's work for the umpteenth time, each time it seemed to only hit him harder. The visions always ended the same way, Vader being burnt away to leave a frightened boy to which Obi-Wan felt nothing but pity. He was failing Anakin all over again…

"Obi-Wan?"

He lifted his head at the familiar voice noticing his old Master's worried expression immediately but not being able to cover up the worst of his emotions, Qui-Gon would surely sense how unbalanced he was. The Jedi Master was standing in the middle of the fresher and Obi-Wan caught him do a quick survey of the room, taking in the shattered surroundings and deducing it was caused by a force user. He also caught the flash of panic cross Qui-Gon's face as he most likely identified the remnants of rage and felt Anakin's imprint over the scene, together they had thought they were finally getting through to the Padawan. They couldn't have been more wrong.

"Anakin did this," Qui-Gon dejectedly stated, shaking his head sadly as he did so.

Obi-Wan only nodded sadly his own pained eyes spoke a thousand truths of their own, even now at such a young age when Anakin acted out there was a tremendous aftermath. He prodded the bond he shared with his apprentice gently to get a feel for the boy's mood now, the anger was still present but it seemed to be being reigned in which was a good sign at least.

"He was caught fighting again…" Obi-Wan looked blankly at a wall straight through Qui-Gon's ghost. "He's becoming more like him every day."

Obi-Wan saw the sudden change in Qui-Gon's stance, the alarmed look on the Jedi Master's face and lastly a warning look in the elder Jedi's eye.

"Obi-Wan, we've talked about this, you know you cannot compare the two. Doing so would seal Anakin's fate."

Obi-Wan chuckled darkly, amused by the irony.

"He seems to be doing that quite nicely all by himself…" He indicated to the ruined surroundings as he spoke, the dark humour doing more harm than good for the both of them.

Qui-Gon sighed and shook his head, not amused in the slightest by his former Padawan's ill-timed joke. He moved to sit beside Obi-Wan, scrutinising the emotions still running rampant through Obi-Wan's mind.

"Whilst his behaviour is _worrying_ …" Obi-Wan snorted, Qui-Gon ignored the interruption. "…it is not uncommon for children of his age to go through such phases."

"Master, this is not a _phase_." Obi-Wan defended his reaction, he could feel the implications already. Qui-Gon was accusing him of over-reacting. How could Obi-Wan react in any other way after what he had seen?

"What if it is and you end up pushing that boy into a future none of us want?" Qui-Gon countered argumentatively.

Obi-Wan scowled at the logic behind his Master's words, he knew very well he was playing on dangerous ground ever since he had seen those visions. Foreknowledge was a dangerous thing after all.

"You know that's not fair, Qui-Gon." He let his Master know just how unappreciated this cross-examination was with his expression, it was not as if he had not been trying to move the boy back onto the right track. Everything he had done though still hadn't made a difference when it mattered.

Qui-Gon as predicted didn't fall for the guilt trip. "Have you thought about what's fair for Anakin?"

Obi-Wan stared at his Master in shock, mouth agape. Everything he had _ever_ done was for Anakin, for his Padawan's future. How dare Qui-Gon question his heart where it came to Anakin.

"Of course I have!"

Obi-Wan rose to his feet in one fluid motion, strolling out of the fresher before he let the overwhelming urge to snap at Qui-Gon take over again. Getting angry wouldn't help the situation at all.

"Really?" Qui-Gon pestered as he stalked his Padawan out into the communal room.

Obi-Wan kept his back turned to his Master as he reached the balcony and looked out over Coruscant's skyline, the sunset was rather beautiful tonight it was a shame there was no time to enjoy the sight. He seriously thought about Qui-Gon's questioning for a minute as he felt the Jedi Master's gaze burning his neck, he had always done what was right for Anakin. Hadn't he?

"Did you even listen to his side of the fight?" Qui-Gon lowered his tone so as to reduce the chance of Anakin over hearing.

Obi-Wan spun to look at his Master, brain racing to work out where Qui-Gon was going with this line of questioning. Wherever it was heading Obi-Wan had the distinct feeling he would not like it.

"That was not of importance, fighting is fighting."

Qui-Gon did not look unkindly at his Padawan as he began shaking his head, "It was important to Anakin, meaning it should be important to you."

"Are you suggesting that there exists a reason for his actions to be justified? Because we both know that is not the case." Qui-Gon knew the code's strict guidelines on violence and emotion better than anyone, he had quoted it to Obi-Wan often enough when he first became a Padawan.

"Of course not, Obi-Wan." Qui-Gon sighed in exasperation over the missed meaning. "I am merely explaining that Anakin perceives the dismissal as a lack of care, your confrontational approach with him reminds him too much of his past…"

Obi-Wan gasped as he caught onto the implication, he had never thought of his talks with Anakin from that point of view. The last thing he ever wanted to do was cause his Padawan more pain, if the boy was being reminded of his time as a slave because of Obi-Wan's actions then it would more than explain the unbalanced emotions. Backing Anakin into a corner caused old memories to resurface and the worst part was Obi-Wan hadn't even realised the resultant of his confrontations, not really.

Qui-Gon's hands appeared beside his, gripping the railing as they both stared absently into the distance. Everything started to click into place in Obi-Wan's mind as he understood what Qui-Gon had already discovered, it was Obi-Wan's teaching which was far more than a contributing factor in Anakin's outbursts.

"He was raised out of the temple, Anakin knew love where other's have not. He was raised by a mother and then had to abandon her in such a cruel world, Anakin has known fear and pain all his life. Is it such a surprise he reacts the way he does when confronted? Emotions run deep within him." Qui-Gon's tone was soft as Obi-Wan stood there shell-shocked.

"You must not blame yourself, Obi-Wan, you have not lived the same life as he how were you expected to train him the way you were?"

Obi-Wan ran a weary hand over his face as started to tremble, he had failed Anakin again. Not because he hadn't tried, he was always meant to and always would. The Jedi had naively believed training Anakin as a Jedi traditionally would be enough, it was clear now that would in fact be the boy's downfall. Anakin was no ordinary Jedi, he had no ordinary upbringing, why in the force should he be trained like any other?

"I don't know if I can do this, Qui-Gon…" He whispered the fear so quietly, it was enough for the elder Jed to hear though.

"Obi-Wan, you are the only one who can save him from himself, you can give him the emotional support that he needs." Qui-Gon implored the statement, attempting to encourage his dejected former Padawan.

"The Council would never…"

Qui-Gon interrupted on queue. "To the hells with the Council, Obi-Wan, you and I have both seen the consequence's of us getting this wrong."

"Us?" Obi-Wan furrowed his brows, his classic sign of befuddlement.

Qui-Gon smiled sadly, "You didn't think I would leave you alone to train him did you? I will be here whenever you need me, Padawan."

Obi-Wan's gratitude was clear for any being who happened to look, just the simple fact of the load being shared was enough to lift a considerable weight. A nagging thought struck Obi-Wan as he mused, the force did not seem to agree with Qui-Gon's decision about just the two of them wading in alone.

"I still haven't decided whether to tell Yoda." He reminded Qui-Gon. The Jedi Master caught the warning in moments. If they could not control Anakin then Obi-Wan would have no choice but tell the Grand Master everything.

One question now remained, how were they to start? Qui-Gon was also on the same wave-length as always.

"We need to identify where this behaviour started so we know how to stop it, Anakin was never like this when he first arrived." Qui-Gon looked over his shoulder to the room belonging to the boy in question, nostalgic expression flitting across his features for a second.

"It was that damned mission with the Sith." Obi-Wan fought the shaking feeling off and once again acknowledged that the experience had left it's scars with him also. "The dark side has never left him alone fully since that day…"

"It certainly seemed to highlight it with him yes…" Qui-Gon mused. "He started to have those visions after that didn't he?"

Obi-Wan nodded at the statement, those blasted visions had earned the pair of them countless sleepless nights. Trying to ascertain the nature of his Padawan's memories was harder than pulling teeth. To this day Obi-Wan did not know the full extent or danger of what his Padawan saw every night, only snippets which the boy was loathed to part with.

An awful thought flashed through Obi-Wan's mind as he remembered something Anakin had shouted in their argument earlier, he had known Obi-Wan was having nightmares of his own. What if the boy's visions were identical to his own?

"You don't think…?"

Qui-Gon snapped his head to meet Obi-Wan's gaze, anxiety clear for those who knew where to look. The reaction was clearer to Obi-Wan than any other verbal answer, Qui-Gon too thought the proposal more than possible. It would certainly explain Anakin's inability to control his emotion's recently, if Obi-Wan was struggling with the horrifying images then what could they be doing to an untrained boy's mind?

"Why would he keep something like that from me?"

Qui-Gon tipped his head knowingly and Obi-Wan saw the trap.

"For the same reason that I never share mine with him…" He answered his own question quietly.

As Obi-Wan felt for his Padawan along their bond now he felt a lot less anger thankfully, he could now also identify a mistrust towards himself now he knew what to look for. Anakin did not feel that he should share his deepest fears when Obi-Wan was hiding his own, Obi-Wan had shattered their trust by hiding his own visions whilst demanding Anakin's.

"For you to both move past these visions you will have to help each other, they hang over your lives, your decisions and worst of all the way you see each other. Both of your actions stem from fear of losing the other…"

Even as Qui-Gon spoke the words Obi-Wan knew them to be the complete truth, it was always his pitfall. Fear leads to anger…

He was terrified of Anakin following Vader's path, even at these early days. Whatever Anakin was seeing had affected him in the same way, and Obi-Wan had failed in learning his Padawan's fears because he had pushed his own problems away. It was no surprise really that Anakin had sensed bits and pieces of Obi-Wan's dreams, they had been so closely bonded these last couple of months that the pair could read the other's each and every moment if they so desired. Obi-Wan's shielding had evidently not been up to scratch on the nights in question, the visions hampered everything in their path and he was sick of it. There was only one way forward if they were to both survive.

Obi-Wan stared towards his Padawan's door and felt sick as his feet slowly approached, he knew he would have to face his own worst fears to help Anakin. They both would. This conversation would not be easy and Obi-Wan was no fool, he knew this would not be sorted after one session. He and Anakin would have to work on rebuilding their trust for the foreseeable future, they would have to work through their respective fears to truly let the visions go.

The thing that terrified Obi-Wan the most however was the fact that he didn't even know if it would ever be possible to let the future go, could he ever look at Anakin and not see the shadows of Vader staring back at him?

He glanced back at Qui-Gon who gave him an encouraging smile from his position, indicating to a white cloth on Obi-Wan's right. Obi-Wan picked up the cloth and smiled at his Master, this would serve to be at least an ice-breaker between he and Anakin.

"Good luck."

Obi-Wan nodded before placing his palm above the door controls, mentally re-connecting wires that Anakin had severed in anger. He took a deep breath opened the door and stepped through.

He was met with the usual mess upon entry, Anakin's clothes and bedding lay haphazardly all over the carpeted surface, along with the boy's various mechanical parts. Obi-Wan's gaze fell upon his Padawan as the door behind him swished close and the two were once again contained together, he just hoped the result would be different to the fresher. Although on reflection Anakin's room already looked like a bomb had gone off.

Anakin's head whipped up to meet Obi-Wan's gaze as he suddenly realised the intrusion, the boy had evidently been dangerously distracted. Obi-Wan gulped as he saw the fire in his Padawan's eyes, doused since their last encounter but still there all the same. He too saw apprehension, guilt and remorse flash across the Padawan's face in a few seconds. Anakin was incredibly conflicted.

He waved the white cloth and smiled slightly hoping the icy atmosphere in the room would thaw somewhat with the joke.

"I come in peace."

He was rewarded with a ghost of a smile from Anakin, a half formed grin pulled at the boy's lips before he grimaced in pain which in turn caused guilt to build in Obi-Wan's chest. He had recognised his Padawan was in pain previously, that nose was quite clearly broken, however he had ruthlessly quashed the pity in their confrontation. Obi-Wan was here to try a different tact this time, no confrontation.

His face turned serious as he moved to join Anakin on the bed, avoiding the various data pads in the process and making a note to tidy his apprentice's room later.

"That looks very painful." He reached out a hand to inspect the damage hoping that even with his very limited force healing knowledge he could at least repair most of the nose, as soon as his hand neared the boys face however he flinched.

Obi-Wan frowned and sighed inwardly, since when was Anakin afraid of him?

"I can help, Anakin." He didn't move closer until the permission was given, their trust had already been stretched far too thin. "Trust me."

The two feared words were spoken now it was up to Anakin to either break or make their bond, something as _small_ as this would be the building blocks of the future. Anakin's eyes met his and Obi-Wan was relieved to see most of the anger had been eradicated, the most prominent emotion he could read from the boy now was trepidation. Qui-Gon had been right, Anakin did not trust him as he used to. The rift between them was far larger than Obi-Wan had ever realised.

For Obi-Wan it seemed like an eternity passed before he received the go ahead to continue, there was still no verbal communication at present only a small nod of the head. Obi-Wan would take contact anytime now even if it were something so inconsequential as a nod.

He worked as carefully as he could all the while keeping a careful eye on Anakin's behaviour, the longer they sat there the more disinterested his Padawan seemed to become. Obi-Wan did notice a reduction in Anakin's shield's, the boy was relaxing more which was a very good sign.

Obi-Wan pushed healing energies in and around Anakin's face and actually grimaced when he felt just a fraction of agony through their bond, on closer inspection he found that not only was Anakin's nose broken but also his cheekbone. The fight must have been one hell of an argument. Thinking of the fight brought Obi-Wan back to Qui-Gon's point, Anakin felt as though he did not care because he had dismissed his reasoning. It was time Obi-Wan changed it.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" He gently inquired, startling Anakin somewhat with the upstart of conversation.

Obi-Wan felt a stinging retort flit through Anakin's thoughts before it was discarded, he had half been expecting a flippant remark to the question especially as it had been he who originally dismissed his Padawan's point of view. Instead however Obi-Wan felt the decision being mulled over in Anakin's mind, probably along the lines of how much of his story to disclose. Obi-Wan had more than a sneaking suspicion that the damned visions were responsible in some way.

Anakin made up his mind and began, "I left my last class just like always, it had been a long day so I felt a little more _distracted_ than usual."

He paused and looked up at his Master expecting a reprimand over openly admitting distraction, Obi-Wan offered none only an encouraging nod to continue. Anakin seemed to breathe a sigh of relief over this before carrying on where he left off.

"Well soon I found that I was in a corridor I have never used, just as I went to get back to the main corridor the whole room went white."

Obi-Wan's attention peaked at the end when Anakin decided describing the strange light, he could tell from Anakin's reluctance that this was the work of visions. The question was would Anakin be open enough to tell him?

After a long pause to collect his thoughts Anakin continued. "When the lights went down again… there was explosions… soldiers… death…"

Obi-Wan caught flickers of what Anakin was describing through their bond, the boy had let his shields slip as the content of the memories affected his abilities. Obi-Wan kept his emotions guarded not letting onto his Padawan that he had seen even a snippet of the boy's memories, or letting Anakin know just how fast his heart was working now. From the snippets and descriptions this matched his own nightmares, the ones regarding the temple at least and it's destruction. Of course in Obi-Wan's visions the man behind all of it was Vader…

"Did you see anything else?" Obi-Wan prodded as he felt a sudden urgency for this scrap of information, suddenly the question if Anakin had seen any resemblance of Vader in his nightmares was paramount.

Obi-Wan felt Anakin slam his shield's up violently, his own head swam from the rebuttal into his Padawan's mind. Anakin's brows furrowed as he deliberated just how much to tell Obi-Wan, from his growing emotions Obi-Wan knew there must be much more that Anakin had yet to share with him.

"It was… confusing…" Anakin began again with his face still frowning, as if remembering a harrowing moment. "I knew that it not to be our time however it felt so real, as if it were actually happening in front of me."

Obi-Wan saw the beginnings of tears start to build at his apprentice's eyes and wanted nothing more than to scoop the boy up and give him the comfort he so desperately needed, he held fast however as Anakin struggled through another painful recollection.

"There were dead Jedi… children…" He snapped his head away sharply as his voice cracked with emotion, tears flowing freely down his cheeks as the ghosts of the future played havoc with his emotions.

Obi-Wan pulled his apprentice into a tight embrace, holding him tightly against his own chest as he felt the tremors rack through his body. As Anakin finally released his emotions Obi-Wan thought back on the boy's words. Not only had Anakin seen the future of the temple but he also believed it to be the future, not some delusion. Why was the force showing him such horrifying things? How much more had Anakin been forced to endure?

Some time later the trembling grew quiet along with the sobbing sounds emanating from Anakin, he hadn't released his emotions for so long was it any wonder the Padawan was so unbalanced? The Padawan pulled himself away from the comfortable hold, gaze shining with gratitude for Obi-Wan just being here. Not as a Master necessarily full of judgement, but as somebody who just simply _cares._

"Who were you fighting with?" Obi-Wan asked gently, he thought it best to move the conversation past the visions for now.

Anakin looked ashamed as he thought back on the fight, now he had re-centered himself in the force somewhat he could see the events clearly. There was more than a handful of remorse present now.

"It was Adrian, he pulled me out of those visions. I walked away from him more than once Master but… when he said you and I were nothing but dark I lost it."

Obi-Wan knew more than anyone how visions like the one Anakin had affected somebody, to be harassed immediately afterwards would not have been easy. As Jedi however they were expected to put their own feelings and fears aside, they could never act in the way Anakin had. To do so with their powers and skills was deadly for the rest of the galaxy, as the Sith had and still were demonstrating.

"I'm so sorry for the way I acted earlier, Master, it was unbecoming and childish. I should have come to you before all of this blew up…" Anakin sounded so remorseful as he apologised, his head bowed into the classic position of humility.

Obi-Wan's heart was telling him to hug the boy again and promise to help him from now on, his head however was telling him to use this as a lesson over the pitfalls of rage and anger. The paternal figure or the Master. This was when he thought back to his and Qui-Gon's conversation, Anakin was not a usual Padawan he should not be taught in the traditional way. Obi-Wan decided against following either of those routes and came up with something else entirely.

"You accused me earlier of hiding my nightmares from you." Anakin looked up sharply in horror mistaking the words for an accusation. Obi-Wan cut him off before he could apologise again. "You were right."

Anakin looked strangely like a fish as his mouth opened and shut again, evidently he was not expecting such an admission from his Master.

"I haven't been looking into your mind I swear," Anakin hurriedly promised.

Obi-Wan chuckled as Anakin spluttered out the words, he knew his own shields would fluctuate in sleep when he was enthralled in a vision. It was more than possible that he had even been _projecting_ parts of them along their shared bond.

"I know, Anakin, I know."

They both pondered in silence and Obi-Wan left it to Anakin to deduce his own way forward, it was up to him to identify the common denominator with his emotional outbursts. It didn't take the boy long.

"These _visions_ unbalance both of us…" He began slowly, "…if I were not so affected by them then I wouldn't have fought with Adrian, or you."

Again the guilt flared behind Anakin's shields, he felt truly awful about their last encounter. The problem now was how to deal with these visions if they continued to plague the duo, Obi-Wan had a funny feeling that at least for Anakin these were just the start of his problems. The boy was incredibly strong in the force and seemed to have an exceedingly strong connection to the future, for all they knew this would always be apart of his life. They would both have to come up with a way to work through the emotions these visions brought on, it was clear Anakin could not do that alone yet.

"You don't need me to give you the lecture about visions do you?" Obi-Wan teased referring to Master Yoda's own words, Anakin too smiled before shaking his head.

The future was always in motion, seeing a vision and attempting to change the outcome from what you see may in fact lead the vision to come true in the first place. They were a very hazardous occurrence, hence why Obi-Wan was so worried for Anakin. Having such vivid visions at such a young age could only lead to more trouble, as hard as it would be they would both have to work to let go of the visions, let go of their fears.

"If you have another of these visions I want you to come directly to me, day or night. Whatever you see we will talk through it and help you deal with the emotions brought on."

Anakin nodded slowly before adding his own amendment. "This has to go both ways, Master, and you must know there are some things I can't tell you."

The force flared in warning from Anakin's words, whatever he planned on not telling Obi-Wan was of great importance. Obi-Wan glared at his Padawan, hoping the boy's resolve would break. Of course it didn't. He sighed and realised that this was at least a start, talking about most of Anakin's visions was far better than the situation they were in now. The downside to this arrangement was that Obi-Wan would have to share with Anakin, how could he really ask Anakin to do something though if he weren't prepared to do so himself? To be fair to his apprentice, Obi-Wan would never reveal Vader in his visions. The Padawan would surely know his Master was keeping something from him, this way they both had things to protect.

"Agreed, of course there are things I cannot tell you. For _now_ at least." Anakin's eyes widened in alarm as he understood Obi-Wan's meaning. Their respective secrets could not stay that way forever, Obi-Wan had to admit it was a rather alarming thought.

Now there was just one more matter to attend to before they could move on with their evening, Obi-Wan had heard this Adrian's name crop up on more than one occasion. He and Anakin appeared to have a rivalry.

"If this Adrian starts hassling you again you must not give into your anger Anakin, you're better than that. I want you to come to me."

A mischievous thought ran through Anakin's mind accompanied by a growing smirk.

"You'll blitz him instead?"

Obi-Wan chuckled darkly causing Anakin's smirk to widen and a chuckle to escape from the youth's throat. Obi-Wan knew that in some way Anakin would love nothing more than to see such a spectacle, that was the old part of Anakin. The Jedi inside the boy however treated the suggestion as just a joke.

"From a certain point of view." Obi-Wan smiled as he made a grab for Anakin. He caught the boy easily and laughed when the high pitched giggles erupted from his Padawan, he always knew just where the most sensitive spots were for tickling.

A few minutes later all iciness in the room had melted away, rich laughter echoed throughout the air and Obi-Wan felt as if a great weight had been lifted all of a sudden. He hadn't even realised just how strained things had become between the duo, they hadn't even joked around for weeks. Laughing felt good again, it allowed the pair to feel connected.

Obi-Wan jumped up from the bed narrowly avoiding a mechanical part in the process, it would surely take Anakin a very long time to clean the whole mess up. He carefully made his way towards the door, flicking the lights up brighter in the process which naturally caused a sound of indignation to emanate from Anakin's direction.

"I want you to clean all of this up, Anakin, it looks like a bomb's gone off. Not to mention the smell…"

A cushion sailed by just where his head had been previously, he smiled as Anakin frowned over his near miss. Obi-Wan would always have the advantage of age and experience, that didn't stop Anakin from testing his reflexes daily however.

"And for that treachery I will be sure to pay you back in kind in the dojo later." Obi-Wan grinned as Anakin groaned before watching the boy realise the last thing he had said.

"Sparring!" Anakin's misery over cleaning up the room was obliterated as soon as the thought entered his mind, it was incredible how quickly the young boy's mood could change.

Obi-Wan pointed to the room before leaving, forcing his face into a serious expression. "Only after this lot is cleared away."

Anakin had never cleaned his room faster.

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 **A/N - That's all for this instalment :) as much as I would love to write these faster Uni work is really getting in the way at the moment! The next part will be up A.S.A.P.**

 **Until next time...**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N - It feels like an age since I've updated this so I apologise! As usual life and university have been getting in the way... Reviews would definitely spur me on to write faster though :D Hope you enjoy...**

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"You seem rather restless today, Anakin."

The Padawan came to a halt mid-swing, sheepish mischievous eyes flicking upwards to meet Obi-Wan's teasing smile. Obi-Wan chuckled when his interruption almost caused Anakin to lose his tight grip on his saber, an event which would be disastrous after all the hard work Anakin had put into the blade. Every time he used it the boy would polish the hilt, always ensuring any grime was removed. If Anakin cared just a little about the state of his room as he did about his light saber then Obi-Wan's voice wouldn't be so hoarse from shouting all of the time.

Anakin sighed, glancing behind him at the tall oak doors for movement before moving to join his Master on the bench.

"It's just they've been keeping us waiting for a while now, Master, I thought this matter was pressing." Anakin kept his gaze glued to the floor as he felt Obi-Wan's mood over his restlessness, he knew he was required to have more patience but lately that had been very hard to come by.

Obi-Wan turned Anakin's head gently so he was facing him, "Patience above everything, Anakin, if there's one thing that you take to heart please let it be that."

Obi-Wan scrutinised his Padawan until he felt remorse flare behind the boy's shields and detected a minute nod of his head, with Anakin it was always 2 steps forward and one step backward. After their latest confrontation things had thankfully cooled down between the pair, Qui-Gon had helped immensely by being the calming influence, a mediator of sorts. There was still lots of progress to be made of course but at least for the moment Anakin was coming to him with his visions, he was starting to open up. Obi-Wan could see a way forward for all of them finally and actually started to have hope that the future could be altered, force even his nightmares had decreased in numbers. That was until however he received the summons earlier that morning, the call for a mission.

Obi-Wan did have to admit the Council had been keeping them waiting for rather a long time, he too had believed the briefing to hold some time sensitivity. It was not for any one Jedi to question the Council's motives and methods though, Obi-Wan had to believe they had a good reason for the delay.

Even as his thoughts were flittering through his mind he could feel Qui-Gon's presence nearby and the Jedi Master was _laughing_ , Obi-Wan allowed a smile to grace his features as he imagined what Qui-Gon would do if he were here all the while mortifying his obedient Padawan in the process. Obi-Wan's style wasn't as rash as that but he had it on good authority from Mace and Master Yoda that he was well onto his way of gaining the same reputation as Qui-Gon, the rebel and maverick. When that day did come Obi-Wan would bare the reputation with pride, it would certainly make Qui-Gon happy that somebody was following in his footsteps.

A faint tapping had his attention switch back to the present moment, he identified the source to be coming from Anakin again. There wasn't really any other possibility if he was honest with himself. Obi-Wan only smiled as he watched his Padawan try to restrain himself from fidgeting, the resultant was a consistent tapping against the polished marble floor. Obi-Wan shook his head over the lost cause Anakin always had been a restless soul, at least this was better than pacing. It was a start in the right direction and Obi-Wan would accept that for now.

"What do you think is taking them so long?" Anakin finally broke the silence just as Obi-Wan knew he would, the Padawan had been working up the courage to ask the question for some time now.

Obi-Wan pondered the possibilities and soon realised it would be pointless guessing, there could be any number of reasons why such as an overrunning previous meeting or even an urgent matter. He had at many times during their stint on the bench attempted to feel anything from the other side of those chamber doors, he had felt nothing but silence which was of course what he expected. The twelve greatest Jedi of the order had nothing but impeccable mental shields. The strange thing he was feeling however was a clenching of his gut, it was a feeling he had come to know when he felt something was off. Obi-Wan could never put his finger on what felt wrong all he knew was that something was wrong, he had a bad feeling about whatever was occurring in the chamber and that in itself was more than troubling. He of course would keep that bad feeling from Anakin, it was of no use to anyone to make the Padawan worry also.

"It could be anything, Anakin, perhaps the other team have been delayed for some reason."

That perked the Padawan's attention, Anakin hadn't been privy to the data pad message so hadn't learned any facts of the mission. Obi-Wan knew little more if he was honest, all the message had said was that there was a growing problem on Tholatin and that two teams would be dispatched today to keep the peace, the impression he had got from the message was that it was a rather pressing issue which did seem to contradict with his and Anakin's extended wait. It was all rather puzzling.

"A team? You didn't tell me this wasn't a solo mission, Master!" Anakin's feelings were starting to bleed through his shields, Obi-Wan could sense that the announcement brought on excitement but mostly apprehension. There weren't many Padawan's that Anakin could say were his friends, he wasn't keen on working with others which Obi-Wan knew would have to be corrected. Perhaps the Council had assigned them for this reason?

"Well you didn't ask." Obi-Wan smirked back, his smile only widening at Anakin's affronted look.

"Fine. Who are they, Master?" Anakin tried the direct approach cheekily.

Obi-Wan shook his head, "Sorry, Anakin, your guess is as good as mine." Obi-Wan answered, truthfully already expecting Anakin's response of crossing his arms in a huff.

He could feel Anakin's worry and felt slight pity for the Padawan, Obi-Wan knew these past months hadn't been easy for Anakin especially with his age mates grilling him about their disastrous last assignment. Obi-Wan just had to hope that whoever they were paired with could keep their Padawan under control, a Padawan rivalry was the last thing Obi-Wan and Anakin needed right now just as they were starting to make progress.

Their thoughts were both interrupted as the double oak doors creaked and began to open, they both stood ready for action in unison, straitening their tabbard's and robes before entering the Council Chamber.

Whilst Obi-Wan headed for the centre point he discretely felt out with the force for any inklings as to the cause of the delay, puzzlingly he felt what seemed to be the remnants of a heated argument which didn't aid any further in his discovery. One Council member's facade slipped as they entered and he noticed, confusion. Obi-Wan deduced quite quickly that they expected two teams of Jedi to enter together, the meeting hadn't been delayed for the other Jedi's sake then otherwise they wouldn't have called them in without them arriving.

He and Anakin both bowed in unison when they reached the centre and took up their usual positions, Obi-Wan's eye caught Yoda's for a moment and something nagged in the back of his mind. Before he could try to put a finger on the stray thought he was addressed, causing the strange feeling to dissipate before it truly formed.

"Do you know why the other Jedi team have failed to join you, Master Kenobi?" Mace asked rather abruptly, he was not keen on latecomers. Obi-Wan already felt sorry for whoever the poor soul's were.

"I'm afraid I don't even know who the other team are, Master Windu." Obi-Wan answered honestly and swiftly, hoping to avoid the Jedi Master's famous deadly wrath.

Mace actually looked surprised for a moment before covering all emotion, just another strange occurrence to befuddle Obi-Wan.

"I'm surprised she didn't tell you in advance, Obi-Wan, the other team…" Mace was interrupted before he could even finish his sentence by the creaking of the main doors.

All heads swivelled to meet the newcomers, the Master's all adorned a disapproving stare as soon as the other Jedi team entered. Obi-Wan recognised the look from his time with Qui-Gon and had to try very hard to cringe.

Siri Tachi strolled into the room briskly with her head held high, ignoring each and every one of the glares she was receiving from no less than twelve Jedi Masters. Obi-Wan couldn't help a smirk pull slightly at his lips, Siri had always been fearless but this was something else. Her footsteps resounded around the deathly silent chamber, her blonde hair swishing from side to side in a hypnotic movement, her Padawan Ferus followed closely behind with a mortified expression plastered on his face which only added to the comedy of the situation. Obi-Wan would always admire how _strong_ Siri was, her entire essence was built upon it. Not even before the greatest Jedi of this age would her shields crumble, it was just who she was.

It was no wonder Mace had thought he would already know who his partner would be. It was no secret that the two were close. A light-bulb moment suddenly occurred was this what the arguing had been about before Obi-Wan had entered? A debate over the pair of them working together. A glint and slight smile from Master Yoda all but confirmed his hypothesis.

Obi-Wan knew his friend long enough to understand what was going on underneath it all, he could feel the joy she was getting from stunning the Master's by acting so headstrong. It became even harder to contain his smile and disbelief as she winked at him halfway across the floor, mischievous and daring as ever. It actually reminded him of Anakin…

Obi-Wan's breath left his lungs, the smirk was wiped straight off his face and he suddenly lost use of his legs as all the blood drained from his face leaving it ashen. Instead of seeing the Council Chambers in front of him he saw the inside of a ship, the flaming hull of a ship that had been shot down. His breath caught in his chest as he recognised the scene immediately, this was Siri's last moments in this world.

He felt another close to his mind as the horrifying images were made real in his mind again, he couldn't put his finger on just who the presence belonged to but it was definitely familiar and _not_ friendly.

He couldn't take his eyes off of the image he was seeing, off of the way her lifeless eyes cut straight through his heart, shredding it into a million pieces. Siri's skin was ashen, her hair a mess when it was always pristine and shining. The image was wrong in so many ways. The one thing Obi-Wan couldn't pull his eyes away from though was the blood, it was _everywhere_. Everything was covered in crimson Siri's hair, her face, his hands…

Obi-Wan blinked the beginnings of tears away rapidly and took in a deep breath as the Council Chambers finally rematerialised, he managed to catch himself before he lost his footing completely. Even though the event had only lasted for a brief moment all eyes were now suddenly on him, every Jedi in the room had sensed the great disturbance in the force that had shaken Obi-Wan to his very core. He now knew exactly who he had sensed just a moment ago, knowing the identity of the person did nothing to aid in his efforts to recover. He had sensed Count Dooku.

 _'Are you alright, Master?'_ Anakin's panicked voice reached him across their bond, he had a supporting arm on Obi-Wan which had probably been the reason he had been able to stay on his feet in the first place.

Obi-Wan nodded to Anakin thankfully, promising that he would explain later what had just happened where they could talk privately. Anakin accepted the diversion much better than Obi-Wan expected.

He gulped and attempted to recompose himself fully aware of the number of scrutinising eyes now baring down on him, Siri's being the foremost he could feel. When he met her eye he could see she was shaken, it took a lot to shake Siri… He could tell she was desperate to bring up the issue, it was pressing on her mind and had obviously caused her a lot of anxiousness. Obi-Wan signalled they would talk later and turned his attention back to the Council members, moving again to take his place beside Anakin.

Obi-Wan could sense how close Siri was to calling him out on what just happened, he knew she wouldn't however in present company. No matter how worried she was about what had just happened she wouldn't risk saying anything in front of the Council, the situation was bad enough as it was. Siri was not a stupid person Obi-Wan had experienced whatever the hell that was when he was looking at her, they had made eye contact. He knew he would be getting a grilling as soon as they were out of here and for once in his life wished the Council meeting would take a while.

"Are you alright, Master Kenobi?" Master Windu asked, not being able to keep all of the anxiousness out of his tone.

Obi-Wan nodded with an apologetic look, trying to play down the incident as nothing more than his clumsiness. Everyone in that room could tell how shaken he had been however, a quick glance around the faces before him informed him that Master Windu and Master Yoda didn't buy the excuse for a second, the pair shared a look with each other before turning their scrutinising gaze back to Obi-Wan. He attempted to avoid Master Yoda's inquisitive eyes and locked up the memory and feeling of Dooku behind his strongest shields, they could not see what he just had. Siri could not see…

Reluctantly Mace started the meeting and Obi-Wan let out a sigh of relief, he would have to be far more careful in the future that had been a close one. He would be lying if he said the vision hadn't shaken his balance, seeing that once had almost destroyed him but witnessing that with Siri present without the clarity to release his emotions was damned near impossible. He had _never_ experienced the visions as vividly as that or for that matter when he was awake, ever since Qui-Gon had shared them with him he had relived every horrifying moment in his nightmares. Obi-Wan had actually thought their number was decreasing recently, it seemed he had been wrong, very wrong.

For the rest of the meeting Obi-Wan kept only half his attention on the briefing, he knew his mind was wandering and he was distracted but he couldn't help it. He was dangerously unbalanced, that vision had thrown everything off for him and the worst thing was he knew Siri and Yoda could sense it. He had absolutely no idea how he was going to explain himself, the truth was completely out of the question obviously. He decided to cross that bridge when it came to it and thought about the other aspect of the visions, Dooku.

Ever since the ex-Jedi's capture he had been kept deep within the temple, under the very foundations of the sacred halls far away from Padawan's and prying eyes. It was the only place honestly that could actually contain Dooku, they couldn't underestimate the man as after all he had been one of the most accomplished Jedi of the entire order. Obi-Wan knew very little of the Council's plans for the Count only what little Master Yoda had told him, they were attempting to turn Dooku back to the light. Obi-Wan knew that to be impossible, the day he struck down Qui-Gon and almost killed Obi-Wan was the day Count Dooku's fate was sealed. From his discussions with Yoda, Obi-Wan knew that the Jedi Master felt exactly the same way.

The question now was why was he sensing Dooku in his visions? He definitely hadn't been mistaken with the identity of the man, force knows he knew Dooku's force signature as well as his own after their last dealings. The point was he shouldn't even be able to communicate, the ex-Jedi was being injected with force inhibitors on a strict schedule. Obi-Wan felt out with the force far below the temple, continuing to barely listen to Mace's words. He felt a tad sorry for not giving the brief his full attention but quite rightly his mind was elsewhere, dealing with more dangerous matters.

When Obi-Wan found Dooku's presence he could sense it was dimmed, barely there, the force suppressants had been administered and were working then. Perhaps Obi-Wan wasn't feeling what he thought he was? Maybe the Dooku he was remembering was from his memories, it was true any recollection from that mission had been poisoned by the Sith.

Obi-Wan was pulled from his thoughts as he realised his absent mind was becoming noticed, as hard as it would be he would have to park his recent experience until after the briefing and deal with it then. He feigned releasing all emotions and distracting thoughts and gave the Jedi Master's his full attention. Obi-Wan couldn't help but notice that as Master Windu was talking, Master Yoda had not taken his eyes off of him. The scrutinisation was unnerving, Obi-Wan knew the Master was searching for answers subtly. As much as it hurt Obi-Wan to lock the Jedi Master out he knew he could not let him find out what was in his mind, the future, not yet at least. He rebuffed each and every one of Yoda's probes and actually took in what their upcoming mission would be properly.

So far Mace had outlined a rather common assignment for Jedi, two neighbouring civilisations on the mid-rim planet Tholatin were on the brink of war and had requested immediate intervention to stop the growing number of attacks. The details were as always rather vague and undeniably skewed by the Senate who had a vested interest in one side of the conflict, Obi-Wan hated it when politics were involved but for some reason this situation seemed to be happening more often than not. As Jedi they would remain impartial and assess the information on the ground, the situation could be rather different to what had been reported thus far but there was one thing that was certain. Innocent people were getting caught in the cross fire.

The Council proceeded to give the teams a briefing on their objectives making extra emphasis that the Senate would not be involved in mediation any longer, Obi-Wan had no quibbles at all with the ruling. The senate had been found to be entirely corrupt from within and lead by a Sith lord no less, ever since the revelation the Jedi had been wary whenever the public body insisted on a certain course of action or tried to meddle in Jedi peacekeeping affairs. Chancellor Organa was doing a good job of rebuilding the broken system but he was but one man, the process would take time so until the Jedi could be sure of the senate's true intentions for the republic they had decided to keep decision making in house so to say. Obi-Wan knew that the decision has not gone down well at all in the outside world but that was not his problem, as far as he was concerned they had been extremely lucky to stop Sidious and quite frankly it was their duty to ensure the Senate was purged of all corruption before it be allowed that amount of power again.

Now that Obi-Wan had locked away his recent harrowing experience deep within his mind he could actually concentrate on the surroundings, Siri's mind was still stuck on his lapse along with Anakin's to a certain extent. As Mace explained that the two teams would work together in unison Obi-Wan felt a flash of irritation cross Anakin's mind.

 _'Padawan, control your thoughts.'_

He bore down harshly on Anakin's mind until the unsavoury feelings and emotions were released, a rivalry between Anakin and Ferus was the last thing he needed with their current problems. Anakin would have to learn to get on with his age-mates, one day he could be relying on them and there would have to be not only trust but also respect. Siri and he would have a hard time on their hands keeping these two Padawan's civil by the looks of things, a side glance and eye roll from Siri informed him that she had come to the same conclusion.

Just another headache to add onto an already overflowing pile of problems. He now not only had to keep a firm hand with Anakin but also had to ensure that his mental blocks did not slip around Siri, she could always get past his guard but it was imperative now more than ever that she didn't. The truth he had seen about the future was his to bare and his alone, who knows what damage it would do if he let slip even a snippet?

Obi-Wan still didn't understand how he had allowed his mind to wander into such dangerous territory, he had seen Siri numerous times since the mission and had never reacted in such a way. Perhaps he had just been distracted but something was telling him it was more than that, whatever the case he would certainly have to be more careful in the coming days.

He was interrupted from his musings by Master Windu who had finally finished the briefing and now asked the pair if there were any queries before they set off. Obi-Wan and Siri both answered in the negative, Siri wanted nothing more than to get out of the Council chambers and interrogate Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan wanted nothing more than to run away from his friend and forget the whole thing had ever happened, he would have to come up with a good excuse if Siri was going to leave him alone for even a fraction of their upcoming journey.

"Your transport will be ready to depart within the hour so we would like you to leave immediately." Mace looked between the two Jedi Master's stood before him with a hesitant expression, it reminded Obi-Wan of the previous tension in the room when they had first entered. Mace did not approve of the pair leaving _together_ on this mission.

"May the force be with you." He eventually bid them goodbye before turning his attention back to the data pad.

Obi-Wan, Anakin, Siri and Ferus all bowed to the Master's in synchrony and turned to leave. Obi-Wan caught a worried look between Master Yoda and Master Windu just as he turned his back on the Masters, he had definitely not fooled them in the slightest.

Just as Obi-Wan reached the door and thought he was clear for the moment did a voice stop him in his tracks. He closed his eyes in resignation and accepted his fate.

"Obi-Wan, a moment wait will you?"

Anakin stopped too and looked at Obi-Wan with panicked eyes, he knew there was a possibility that if Obi-Wan were forced to reveal his visions to Master Yoda then Anakin would have to do the same. Obi-Wan sent him a reassurance along their bond that this would not be the case which brought much relief to the Padawan, Obi-Wan could sense though that Anakin still did not want to leave his Master's side.

"Go back to our quarters, Anakin, and start packing please." Obi-Wan attempted to shoo Anakin out of the door before Master Yoda reached him but the Padawan was having none of it.

 _'Master, I don't think I should leave you.'_ Anakin held his ground just outside the Council chambers.

Obi-Wan could hear Master Yoda's gimmer stick drawing closer by the second, it wouldn't be long before the Jedi Master was upon them and it would be too late for Anakin to move. Thankfully Siri, who hadn't got much further along the corridor stepped in, sensing Obi-Wan's panic most likely.

"Come on, Skywalker, lets leave your Master in peace for a few minutes." She steered Anakin away from Obi-Wan rather forcibly in the end but it seemed to do the trick.

He mouthed his thanks to Siri who only rolled her eyes in response, the message was clear she still wanted an explanation for earlier. Obi-Wan's day was getting better by the minute. Anakin stole one last panicked glance at Obi-Wan before he was steered away for good.

 _'It will be fine, Anakin… I'll catch up with you soon.'_

He honestly didn't know if he had said the words to be a comfort to Anakin or himself, it did little to calm his frantically beating heart however. Obi-Wan took in a deep breath before facing the music.

Surprisingly Master Yoda indicated to Obi-Wan to exit the Council chamber all together, Obi-Wan had been under the impression that the upcoming conversation would be rather a public one with the entire Council. He didn't know if it was a good or bad sign that this would be just between him and Master Yoda.

The pair of them moved over to the bench at Yoda's insistence and sat in silence for quite some time. Just as Obi-Wan was about to politely inquire the reason of this meeting did Yoda speak up.

"Nothing that not was, Obi-Wan." The little Master stated gravely, it was clear from his tone that there was no room for question over his analysis.

Obi-Wan wouldn't insult someone he respected so much by denying the truth they both knew, he had already kept so much from the Jedi Master and Yoda knew that just as well as he did. The question was how much would the Jedi Master demand to know? More importantly how much could Obi-Wan even tell without damaging the future even further?

"No, Master." Obi-Wan sighed heavily and ran his fingers through his hair tiredly, keeping such a thing secret from so many was starting to take it's toll on him. "It was a vision."

"Hmmm." Yoda looked directly at Obi-Wan as the younger Jedi did not offer anymore information voluntarily.

Obi-Wan had to resist the urge to squirm under the scrutiny, he could feel Yoda's careful prying against his mind and concentrated more on containing the precious memories and truths inside his head. Until it was absolutely necessary he could not let any Jedi see what Qui-Gon had shown him, not even Master Yoda. After a few moments of silence where Obi-Wan knew that Yoda was attempting to gain any information the Jedi Master huffed and stopped prying, Obi-Wan had no doubt that Yoda had the skill to break down his defences in a flash. However such a brutal force could leave irrevocable damage to Obi-Wan and it seemed at least for now that was one step too far for Yoda, Obi-Wan only wished that the Jedi Master would continue to trust him enough not to take that step.

"Something to tell me have you, Obi-Wan?" In one last guilt-tripping offence Yoda tried to get even a glimpse at Obi-Wan's secret, as much as he hated what he was about to do Obi-Wan saw no other way forward, not now at least.

"No, Master, I'm handling it."

The look of disappointment in Master Yoda's eyes had the affect of being damning and if Obi-Wan was honest with himself it was a bitter pill to swallow. To see somebody you looked up to so greatly look at you with those eyes was truly heartbreaking, to see their image of you slip. He found his voice sticking and thick as he tried to soften the blow in anyway.

"Not for now at least… I need some time, Master, that's all." He looked into Yoda's eyes hopefully, wishing that their trust was good enough to withstand a knock such as this.

Yoda mulled over the prospect in pensive silence for quite some time, grave haunted eyes staring seemingly absently forward. Obi-Wan knew better of course, Master Yoda was doing what all Jedi should in a moment of uncertainty, relying on the force.

Thankfully Yoda began to nod before summoning his gimmer stick back in hand, Obi-Wan took this as a sign that the conversation had come to an end and that thankfully for now he would not be forced to reveal his secret. Obi-Wan bowed to the Jedi Master again and made a move for a quick exit, he needed to talk to Qui-Gon about this urgently.

"Here I am, Obi-Wan, if talk you need to." Yoda's voice floated down the corridor causing Obi-Wan to turn, the little Master's hand was already outstretched to admit him back into the Council chamber.

"Thank you, Master, for everything," Obi-Wan solemnly replied, grateful for Yoda's understanding and continued support.

Yoda nodded again before entering the Council chamber entirely and letting the door close behind, Obi-Wan noticed that the Jedi Master appeared to be deep in thought. He imagined Yoda would not be letting this issue go anytime soon. With that reminder and the knowledge that he had very little time Obi-Wan strolled down the corridor at a brisk pace and turned his mind to the mission ahead, for now at least.

Unknown to Obi-Wan somebody watched him strolling back towards his quarters, the man shook his head sadly and felt guilty somewhat for keeping his former Padawan in the dark. Qui-Gon believed it to be necessary though and in fairness his actions had helped Obi-Wan when he most needed it. When Master Yoda had been pondering over the decision Qui-Gon reached out to the Grand Master and convinced him to give Obi-Wan more time, he had said it was critical for the future that Yoda not see the visions Obi-Wan and the force had agreed with him on that fact. To do so would be as good as setting them in stone which neither of them wanted.

It was only then that Yoda was swayed truly to relent and give Obi-Wan the time he needed, now it was up to Qui-Gon to keep his promise to the Grand Master and ensure that this was the right decision for all of them.

* * *

 **A/N - Thought it was time to start moving towards the mission this chapter, the pace will be picking up very soon!**

 **Until next time...**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N - Yes I am alive, and I am so so sorry that I have been away for quite some time. Life as always got in the way, I've managed to get myself back into writing little bits so thank god I finally have a new chapter to post! Thankyou to everyone who has stuck with this and I promise you this story will not get abandoned, I have the entire thing planned out chapter by chapter it's just finding the time to sit down and write it! Hopefully after January I will be able to start a normal-ish schedule again, anyways enjoy!**

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Anakin paced the entire width and breadth of his and Obi-Wan's apartment as he waited for his Master to return, nothing else in his life had seemed to take this long. It was as if time itself had stopped for the rest of the universe. The Padawan sighed deeply as he glanced over at the chrono-metre for the umpteenth time, no matter how much he looked at the blasted thing it never sped up. Truly it had only been a matter of minutes since he had given up on his packing, and only 15 or so since he had left Obi-Wan with Master Yoda.

"I never should have left him there…" He muttered to himself darkly, if Siri had not intervened then he wouldn't have to fret and panic with the lack of knowledge he was currently experiencing now.

When Obi-Wan had almost collapsed in the Council chambers, Anakin had felt something from his Master that he hadn't felt in quite some time. Fear and an intense sorrow, furthermore Anakin had sensed a segment of the vision and was overwhelmed with the irrevocable feeling of hopelessness and despair. If Anakin had felt all of these things, even though it was through their bond, then surely somebody as wise as Master Yoda would know that Obi-Wan's attempted deflection was complete poodoo.

Each time Anakin had attempted to reach his Master in the last quarter of an hour he had been greeted only with a wall, Obi-Wan was shutting him out entirely. Hence the pacing; anything could be happening. Anakin couldn't entirely blame his Master for the block, the first thing he would have done if a slip-up like that had happened in public would be to reinforce _all_ mental shielding to an excruciating amount, in fear of losing control again. Anakin knew it would take Obi-Wan some time to loosen up after letting his mental focus slip like it had, unluckily for Obi-Wan there wouldn't be much time for such things. They had a mission to attend to after all.

Usually the thought of an assignment filled Anakin with excitement, it wasn't very often that they got to leave the temple and truly _see_ the other parts of the universe. Anakin meant what he said when he became a Jedi, he wanted to be the first to see every planet and every star. He gave up pacing and slumped onto the couch huffing in frustration as he went down, the last thing he or Obi-Wan needed right now was an assignment which was the main reason why he wasn't overjoyed to be leaving the serenity of the temple. The fact that it wasn't a solo mission either didn't help matters and the inclusion of Ferus Olin was the cherry on top of the awful cake, the Padawan disliked Anakin and quite frankly Anakin could say the feeling was mutual. Siri's Padawan always had an air of superiority and he constantly looked down at Anakin, he hated that feeling it reminded him of what it was like to be a _slave._

Thankfully Anakin was saved from darker thoughts as he finally felt the approach of Obi-Wan, he jumped up off the couch and reached the door just in time to admit his Master. When the front door slid open Obi-Wan did not look surprised to see Anakin stood there, truly he looked as though he had just surfaced from deep thought. The Padawan couldn't help but shake the feeling that his Master was worn out, Anakin was reminded of the awful feelings he had accidentally felt in the Council chambers as he noted how _shaken_ Obi-Wan appeared to be. Anakin followed Obi-Wan into the living area and stood quietly and trying not to fidget as his Master regained his bearings.

"You might as well speak up, Padawan, I can feel how much it's killing you to remain silent," Obi-Wan wearily spoke without turning to face Anakin, choosing to remain facing the window.

Anakin decided to remain on safe ground for his first query, he hadn't seen Obi-Wan in this kind of state since Qui-Gon was murdered. "What did Master Yoda want?"

"Oh nothing much. He asked If I would style his hair for him when we get back," Obi-Wan replied dead-pan.

Anakin sighed and turned to leave as he realised he wouldn't get any answers out of Obi-Wan, he tried not to show it but the sarcastic rebuttal had left a sting. It hurt that Obi-Wan wouldn't open up to him. He reached his bedroom door and was just about to enter when a voice stopped him in his tracks, hand frozen and poised ready to swipe the control.

"Wait, Anakin… I'm sorry." Obi-Wan's plea was heartfelt and more, his tone made the Jedi Master sound so young and oddly vulnerable. It was clear to all that had the gift of sight, Obi-Wan was a man in pain, Anakin understood that feeling well.

The Padawan turned away from the solitude of his room and back towards Obi-Wan. When he locked eyes with his Master, Anakin felt a chill traverse his spine, he had seen that look on only the most haunted souls and more so than that Anakin had seen that very look every time he glanced in a mirror after one of his own visions.

Anakin practically ran to Obi-Wan's side and pulled the elder man into a fierce bear hug, he was slightly surprised when the gesture was reciprocated but continued to hold tight as tremors racked Obi-Wan's body.

"It was a vision," Anakin deduced in a thick tone.

Obi-Wan's voice almost cracked as he replied, "yes."

Eventually the two fumbled apart from the embrace, mindful of their limited time before the shuttle was due to leave.

"Can you talk about it?" Anakin pressed carefully.

Obi-Wan ran a weary hand over his face and Anakin was once more reminded of how burned out his Master looked, it was worrying with a mission lying so close ahead.

"I can't, Anakin, not without falling apart."

Anakin's eyes shot up in shock as he heard the dejected words tumble from Obi-Wan's lips, his Master was far more unbalanced by the experience than Anakin had expected.

"I don't have the time to work through it now especially with the mission and Siri…"

Everything fell into place as soon as her name was mentioned, the level of reaction made perfect sense now that Anakin had identified who the vision had been about, Siri. He knew Obi-Wan and Siri were close and that at some point in their past they had been more than that, Anakin knew how it felt to witness an awful vision where the people you cared about were hurt or worse. It was truly mind-numbing.

"She was in it wasn't she?"

Obi-Wan had gone awfully silent as if he was reliving the memory in question, Anakin now understood why Obi-Wan wanted to bury the whole thing until after their mission to sort through, they simply did not have enough time to deal with the emotions the vision would surely bring on. Anakin was pretty sure that Obi-Wan had only just scratched the surface in the Council chambers before the damning memory was repressed.

"Yes. Anakin, she mustn't know. You cannot tell her." Obi-Wan's body language was very serious all of a sudden, the change in demeanour made Anakin jump a tad.

"I won't, Master, I promise."

Obi-Wan breathed a sigh of relief and released his grip on Anakin's shoulder, he looked towards the chrono for the time and jumped slightly when he realised just how much had already passed them by. They only had 15 minutes to pack everything before they would have to leave for the shuttle, annoyingly the Council hadn't given them much time at all. A Jedi had to learn from an early age to be fast on his feet however so the pair of them had grown used to the quick turnarounds by now.

"I promise when you and I return I will request some time away from the temple, we will sort through these visions once and for all, Anakin, but for now we better get packing." Obi-Wan ended the grave statement with a smile in an attempt to lighten the mood, as soon as Anakin nodded back the Jedi Master rushed towards his own room to gather his belongings.

Anakin felt a chill race through him again as the thought of dissecting his visions made him sick to his stomach, part of what Obi-Wan promised sounded great. It would do the both of them the world of good if they could overcome their respective hindrances, they could actually _rest_ properly. The other part of Anakin however was struck with an incredible fear. To overcome one's visions meant one had to face them, it meant he had to share with Obi-Wan what he had seen. It meant that he had to show his Master how much of a _monster_ he was, and that terrified Anakin more than any vision ever could…

* * *

Obi-Wan collected spare clothing and packed essentials quickly and efficiently, he had completed the same procedure hundreds of time now and the entire act had become second nature. He was aware of Qui-Gon's presence before the man even materialised in front of him, just as he always did.

"I'm guessing you saw what happened?" Obi-Wan kept himself busy and moved around Qui-Gon unwilling to give much of his inner feelings away, he had meant what he said to Anakin now was not the time to dissect such things he had a mission to complete.

"Enough to know what occurred," Qui-Gon answered sadly.

A morbid silence echoed throughout the small quarters, only broken by Obi-Wan's travel bag being latched shut. He didn't want to make eye contact with his old Master as he knew that could be the end of him, he so desperately wanted to lock away the visions and forget he had ever witnessed such atrocities.

"You witnessed her death again didn't you?"

Obi-Wan stilled where he stood, his heart rate increasing to thud in his ears as the images threatened to engulf his mind once more, threatening to shatter his heart into a million pieces. He sat on the bed before his legs had the chance to give way, he gripped one hand in another to stop the shaking from truly starting. None of these countermeasures helped with Qui-Gon of course, Obi-Wan had never been able to fool his Master. The elder man knew him too well.

"I don't know what caused my mind to slip," Obi-Wan admitted quietly, "I've seen Siri many times since first witnessing…" Obi-Wan found he couldn't finish the sentence, he didn't need to though the sentiment was clear.

"I should never have shown you those damned visions, Padawan, if I could take it back I would. It was stupid and reckless of me," Qui-Gon berated himself while Obi-Wan only shook his head sadly.

"You cannot blame yourself, Master, I asked for this. If I remember rightly I _insisted._ " Trust had been an issue between the pair back then, there were far too many secrets regarding Qui-Gon and Dooku. Obi-Wan hadn't exactly been fair on his old Master so there was no way Qui-Gon should shoulder all of the blame, an equal part was certainly reserved for himself.

Qui-Gon of course shook his head vigorously and adorned a frown, "You didn't know what you were asking for, Obi-Wan, it is my fault that these visions still plague you."

"Master, you and I both know that for the Sith to be defeated I had to see those visions, I needed to see what was at stake. I wouldn't have believed what I did without seeing them, the fault is with me and me alone." Obi-Wan stubbornly stared Qui-Gon down until eventually the Jedi Master bowed his head in defeat.

"Then we are both at blame, that does not change the fact that I am truly sorry, Obi-Wan. I never intended for this to happen." Qui-Gon sat down beside his former Padawan as he guiltily replied.

Obi-Wan looked straight into Qui-Gon's eyes and saw that his old Master was being weighed down with an incredible guilt, Obi-Wan felt awful for not seeing it before. He had never considered his constant nightmares would have affected Qui-Gon like this but truly there was no other way they could have done, Qui-Gon Jinn was the most caring and compassionate man that Obi-Wan had had the pleasure of knowing.

"I know, Master, this is our sacrifice though and you I and know that better than anyone."

Obi-Wan's truths served to add morbidness to the surroundings, he was not wrong though and they both knew it. A Jedi's life was a tough one, always sacrifice for the greater good, for the Force. There had been times when Obi-Wan had questioned just _how_ much sacrifice, when he had to part ways with Siri, when Qui-Gon was ripped away before his time. A Jedi's life was strewn with hardship, pain and loss but honestly when Obi-Wan truly though about it he would never change his path.

"When did you become so wise, Padawan?" Qui-Gon smirked, thankfully cutting through some of the icy atmosphere in the process.

"A long long time ago, Master." Obi-Wan grinned back, sorrow all but lifted from his heavy heart.

"Hmm," The Jedi Master replied unconvinced.

Obi-Wan glanced at the chrono and realised the time had almost come to leave, he mentally pushed Anakin to be ready for two minutes and went to grab all of his hastily packed gear.

"Obi-Wan." He stopped just before the door. "I want you to know I'm always here to help, we will get you through this. The both of you."

Obi-Wan nodded gratefully and allowed a small smile to grace his features, "I know, thank you, Master."

Qui-Gon dipped his head slightly and then he was gone, Obi-Wan followed suit and left the comfort of home for what might be a lengthy trip. Master and apprentice headed out of their apartment with anxious hearts and restless minds, brains already whirring over their next biggest milestone and both with the hopes that this time things would not end in disaster.

* * *

Anakin and Obi-Wan made their way across one of the Jedi temple's frantic hanger bays towards a prepped and ready ship that they would be departing on, Siri and Ferus were already waiting for them at the ramp's base. Obi-Wan noted the unsavoury thoughts that suddenly popped into his Padawan's mind even though the boy had done his utmost to hide them, the rivalry between Padawan's was still very much alive.

 _'Anakin…'_

Obi-Wan warned his Padawan using their bond not wanting the other Jedi to catch any wisps of this conversation, Anakin made an attempt to release the bitter emotions but Obi-Wan could sense there was fire still simmering just beneath the surface. One little event would set Anakin off and quite frankly Obi-Wan was not going to stand for it when they had so much at stake.

 _'Sorry, Master… He's just so smug.'_

Obi-Wan had to catch himself from scoffing as he heard his Padawan's thoughts, it was true from this distance there was a certain aura of _smugness_ surrounding the elder Padawan. As Jedi though personal feelings should not come into play it was up to Siri to keep Ferus in line just as it was up to Obi-Wan to do the same with Anakin.

 _'That's quite enough, Anakin, this ends now do you hear me?'_

The pair were almost at their ship by now, Obi-Wan's attempts to make eye contact with Siri were so far fruitless. It seems his old friend was going to be stubborn, two could play at that game…

 _'Yes, Master… it's just…'_

Obi-Wan interrupted the thought abruptly. _'Padawan, I have enough to deal with without you and Ferus clawing at each other's throats. Please for me just be civil with the boy.'_

Obi-Wan felt a pang of guilt as Anakin's apprehension skyrocketed, he hadn't meant to worry his Padawan about his own state of mind. It was important however that Anakin understood exactly what troubles they faced this mission with keeping their respective visions in control and under wraps, squabbling with Ferus would not make that assignment any easier.

 _'I'll try, Master.'_ Anakin huffed.

Obi-Wan grinned as he recited a line which had Anakin roll his eyes at his mentor, _'There is no try, Padawan.'_

The two sobered as they inevitably reached the base of the ship and noticed the rather frosty atmosphere awaiting them, Obi-Wan had no doubt that this was Siri's way of getting information out of him by the means of guilt tripping. Tough, it would not work this time.

"Siri, Padawan Orlin." Obi-Wan greeted the pair, eyes never leaving Siri's face as he did so.

The two Padawan's greeted their opposite Master's and Siri even gave Anakin a hug and engaged the Padawan in small chat, all the while she never acknowledged Obi-Wan's presence which was noticed quite evidently by all Jedi.

Obi-Wan's eyes twinkled humorously as he observed the blonde haired Master struggle to keep up her cold demeanour around the Padawan's, he had caught her eye briefly and smiled before she had turned away in a huff to grab her gear.

The Jedi all boarded the ship, stowed their gear and convened in what would be classed as the centre point. Siri still acted as for all intensive purposes that Obi-Wan wasn't even here, it was the oldest trick in Siri's book and Obi-Wan remembered it well from their childhood. He wasn't the one that usually broke.

"Padawan's, I want you to get some rest before we reach the planet, when we arrive it will be all hands on deck."

Obi-Wan watched on amused, leaning against one of the bulkheads as Anakin and Ferus started to move back towards quarters, both equally shocked by Siri's coldness towards Obi-Wan.

 _'Master?'_ Anakin squeaked across their bond, unsure on whether he should be terrified or amused.

 _'Go, Anakin, I will be fine.'_ Obi-Wan smiled at his Padawan genuinely which helped to alleviate some of the boy's concerns.

 _'Good luck.'_ He indicated towards Siri before retreating to bed.

Obi-Wan lightly chuckled and observed that the two Padawan's actually did appear to be getting along at the moment, there was no contempt from either side. Although that was probably because the both of them had absolutely no clue what was happening and were a mixture of scared and amused by Siri's antics. It shocked Obi-Wan that Siri could still stoop to these levels especially in front of her Padawan, there was only one explanation; she was very ticked off.

A few moments later it was just the two of them left in the corridor, Obi-Wan glanced over rather sheepishly and received a look from his counterpart that quite honestly could have frozen hell over, he was pretty sure the glare actually sent shivers down his spine.

"Siri…" He tried albeit in vain as in the next second she turned abruptly and headed towards the cockpit, hair swishing in her wake and harsh mutterings beginning in earnest.

Obi-Wan sighed heavily, "Force help me…"

He set off in Siri's wake unaware truly of just exactly what he was walking into.

"Repulsors are online, course has been cleared and laid in." Obi-Wan reeled off the flight information as he flicked buttons and controls to prepare for hyperspace travel.

The atmosphere in the cockpit was undeniably frosty, Siri hadn't said one word to him since they had entered the room other than to relay information even then her tone was professional at best. Siri's ignoring act was surprisingly starting to grind on Obi-Wan, usually he wasn't so rattled so easily but perhaps he had the fact that he was unbalanced to thank for that too.

"Entering hyper-space," Siri informed him curtly before engaging the engine.

The ship pulled forward at an alarming rate and the pair were greeted with the usual distorted effects of space outside the front viewport, Obi-Wan adjusted to the voidness in seconds and focused on removing the queasy feeling that always accompanied space travel. He doubted he would ever truly be okay with flying.

Now that the ship's course had been plugged in and they were safely in hyperdrive there wasn't much for the pair to do other than monitor the ship's status. It wasn't long before the lengthly awkward silence grew too much for Obi-Wan to handle.

"Are you ever going to acknowledge to me on this mission?" His voice came out rather more snippy than he would have planned which also attested to the fact that Siri had gotten to him, again.

"That depends, Obi-Wan, are you still going to pretend that what happened in the Council chambers was nothing?" She hotly retorted immediately.

He would be lying if he said the remark didn't sting, it was difficult to keep the memory in question deeply buried in his mind he did not want a repeat performance here of all places.

"Siri, it _was_ nothing."

Obviously she loudly scoffed at the answer, seeing straight through Obi-Wan's diversion just as he knew she would.

"I was there, Ben! We all felt that disturbance, do not take me for a fool," She warned fiercely, standing up in the process to tower above him.

Obi-Wan winced at the volume he had not seen this side to Siri for quite some time, he had forgotten how fiery she could be when provoked.

He continued staring straight ahead and meekly asked, "What do you want me to tell you, Siri?"

His submissive tone struck a chord within her and she changed from an aggressive stance to enter his eye-line, there was one thing more than most that Obi-Wan loved about Siri it was her compassion. When she could truly see another's pain her entire demeanour changed.

"The truth of course."

Obi-Wan found himself laughing before he could stop, she'd made it sound as if it was the easiest thing in the world. The truth was the one thing he could not tell Siri, ever.

"I wish I could, Siri." She looked skeptical of the diversion, "truly."

Her anger had dissipated somewhat but Obi-Wan could sense that his vague answers were still infuriating her, if he were in her position he would probably be as equally miffed.

She tried another tact, "I have never felt such agony in my life, Ben, I'm worried for you."

Obi-Wan's heart skipped a beat for a second as Siri revealed that she had sensed what he had, even just a snippet could have revealed enough for damage to be done.

"Siri…" He stumbled over his words, heart equally in shock from the revelation and touched for her concern. "I can't."

"Yet you told Master Yoda?" She challenged.

"I didn't, Siri, he gave me time to sort through this on my own. I only ask that you do the same." He looked her straight in the eye as he pleaded, cutting through to her heart with a single line.

He saw immediately he had succeeded here, Siri could never resist a heartfelt plea from a friend it wasn't in her nature. That didn't mean she wouldn't go down without a few more swings however Obi-Wan was prepared for them.

"Wouldn't it help to talk about it then?"

Obi-Wan had to admire her persistence even now.

"It would be too dangerous to," he insisted.

He could see the cogs turning in Siri's brilliant mind, it didn't take her long to deduce what he meant by such a statement.

"You had a vision."

Obi-Wan marvelled at the speed of her mind, he only nodded and she was off on her next deduction. Chillingly she hit the nail on the head only a few moments later.

"You were looking at me… I was in the vision…" She looked up at him for confirmation, intelligent eyes scanning for any reaction on Obi-Wan's features.

He struggled to keep his face passive as his heart thudded thunderously in his chest, inevitably he crumbled under the intense security ever so slightly, it was enough for Siri to get her answer though. The cockpit fell into a deathly silence as Siri mulled over the ramifications of what she had learned, Obi-Wan knew his friend was cunning and intelligent. Siri had once again found out more than she should.

"Now do you see why I can't tell you? Anyone?" Obi-Wan rounded on his friend urgently, seizing the opportunity to drive his message home. When he had Siri's full attention he urged on.

"Foresight is a dangerous thing we both know that, this vision may never come true it may always come true. Changing any element or attempting to change it may cause it to happen in the first place or a worst future to take place."

Siri listened intently as Obi-Wan argued what he had been taught time and time again, as somebody who was receptive to visions of the future from an early age he had been warned by Master's time and time again over the pitfalls of trying to read the future. It still remained to be seen if what he and Qui-Gon had done would result in a worse future than what they were trying to prevent, visions were always perilous affairs that were not to be trusted.

By the time he ended Obi-Wan could see that Siri was deep in thought, he only hoped that she understood his silence over the matter.

"Okay, Ben…" She came to terms with the situation swiftly before turning back on her friend for questioning. "Have you got it under control now?"

Obi-Wan blinked at the intensity of the query still shocked at how quickly Siri's attitude had changed, "Yes it's under control." He stumbled over his words slightly.

Siri gripped his hands in hers and stared into his face intensely, looking for any sign of deceit. "Obi, this is important, this is a dangerous mission and I need to know you're 100%. I could be placing my life or Ferus' in your hands."

Obi-Wan blinked once before returning the strong grip, he looked her straight in the eye and answered honestly and truthfully. "Siri, it's under control, I swear you can depend on me. Trust me."

And there it was, what it all boiled down too in the end with their ever-changing relationship, trust. As he looked into her glistening sapphire eyes he saw before she answered out loud, she would trust him forever and always just as he did her.

"I trust you," She whispered quietly even though they both knew she didn't need to, when they had a connection as strong as this it was if Obi-Wan could hear her thoughts and feel her most intimate emotions. They were connected.

The pair remained content with their positions until Siri's mind seemed to click that they had suddenly become very close in proximity and that she hadn't broken eye contact for quite some time. Embarrassment caused Siri to attempt to extract her hand from Obi-Wan's grip, he held on tight and began to chuckle at her feeble attempts. He admired the way her cheeks flushed as she became increasingly _uneasy_ with their prolonged contact.

"Ben…" She warned.

"Siri," He countered almost cheekily, enjoying her squirming far too much.

She eventually managed to extract her hand from his and moved away to a respectable distance, Obi-Wan made no hesitation in following her.

"You know this is dangerous, Obi-Wan, with… us." She indicated his closeness to her and the rather lengthly hand-holding they had just ended.

"I know," He replied seriously pulling her into an embrace before she could truly protest, he could tell she was shaking on the inside over the thought of them going down this route again. Obi-Wan had another route in mind however.

He pulled back and set about moving some strands out of her face, she caught his hand upon her cheek and leaned into the feeling familiarly. "I also know that I want you in my life, Siri Tachi."

For a moment he thought she wouldn't complain, she looked so content and happy just standing with him. The close contact didn't phase her for a second and for just a moment it was as if the pair were Padawan's again sneaking around behind their Master's. Obi-Wan smiled at the warm memories before being brought back into the present as Siri sobered visibly and pushed his hand away gently but sadly.

"Please, Obi-Wan…"

He gave her the space that she needed and respected but refused to let up on what he had to say. "We are both committed to the Jedi order, I'm not suggesting we change that. The truth is that I've missed you, your friendship. I want what we had as kids back, I want to be close to you."

Siri's pained expression informed him that she had already misunderstood his request, he was not stupid.,Obi-Wan knew the council would never permit a romantic relationship among Jedi.

"We used to be best friend's, Siri, I've missed my friend all these years," he clarified.

Siri frowned over the words not quite understanding what he was suggesting, "Are you saying we made the wrong choice all those years ago?"

Of course the choice Siri was referring to had occurred when the pair had been junior Padawan's and oh so very young. Their closeness was discovered by not only Qui-Gon but also Master Yoda. They both had to make the hardest choice of their lives that day between following their hearts of following their duty to the Jedi, they had parted ways believing it to be the only way to keep their feelings buried.

"I'm saying we were ignorant to another choice," he explained, Obi-Wan had thought about that fateful day more often than not in recent months since Siri had walked back into his life.

"It never should have been a choice between love and never talking to one another again, I miss your friendship, Siri." He gently took her hand as he spoke from the heart, without the intent of manipulation nor the intent of compromising either of their honour.

Siri smiled genuinely as she understood what he wanted, what he was asking for. Friendship, a closeness that most Jedi did not embrace. It would be foolish for either of them to deny the connection they shared any longer.

"And I yours…" She whispered in agreement.

They both grinned at the renewed friendship, in the complete understanding that they would be Jedi and together. There was balance in everything and this choice seemed _right_ not only to them but also to the force. Obi-Wan finally understood how Qui-Gon could be with Tahl but not be with her at the same time. It was evident to him as a Padawan that Qui-Gon had loved Tahl, neither of them had ever acted unfaithfully with their feelings though, Obi-Wan had always thought that would be too painful to endure. In truth being separated permanently was far more torturous.

"You better read up on the mission before we waste all of our prep-time." Siri grinned whilst shoving a data-pad into his chest.

Obi-Wan pretended to be winded and released his grip on her, Siri didn't fall for the act in the slightest and went about checking the ships systems again.

"I wouldn't call it a waste…" He muttered whilst retreating back to his own seat to brush up on the assignment that lay ahead.

Just before he started reading he caught a blush creep up Siri's neck and smiled quietly to himself over the turn of events, the future seemed a brighter prospect now that Siri would be a part of it.

* * *

Anakin tossed and turned in bed as nightmare after nightmare gripped his terrified and abused mind, he was forced to witness countless deaths of everyone he had ever cared about over and over again without the reprieve of waking. First it was his mother on a faraway world, dying in his arms in incredible agony. Next it was Qui-Gon being impaled by a red light saber and falling lifelessly to the floor followed by the continually changing death of Obi-Wan. As a force shove pushed Obi-Wan into larva Anakin woke up gasping and shooting straight up in bed, the tingling moving across his body fooled his mind for a second that he had in fact fallen into larva and was now burning helplessly.

It took a few moments for him to ascertain his location and calculate that he had only been asleep for an hour, if you could call that torture sleep. He checked that his mind was completely blocked off from Obi-Wan and was pleased to see that the block on their bond had held fast.

Anakin had the urge to tell Obi-Wan of his nightmares as per their agreement for a few moments, eventually he decided against the idea knowing that his Master had enough problems on his plate at the moment. Obi-Wan had let it slip just how much he was struggling on the way to the ship, the last thing Anakin wanted to be was a burden. He had dealt with these nightmares before and he would do so again, until Obi-Wan and he could talk through things properly. The most worrying thing Anakin now found when he relived these horrifying visions was the fact that he almost appeared numb to them, well one in particular. Watching Obi-Wan being brutally cut down after a deadly fight used to cause him such terrible agony, now it was different. He couldn't entirely place the feeling but it was as if that Obi-Wan had been distanced from his Obi-Wan in Anakin's mind.

He decided to mull over that revelation another time and set about returning to sleep before Obi-Wan realised he had awoken, Anakin slipped back into the depths of his mind with a feeling that he couldn't completely shake. These visions were slowly changing him.

* * *

 **A/N - The next chapter will have more plot development as the Jedi finally get their teeth into a mission!**

 **Until next time...**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N - I cannot apologise enough for the time it is taking me to write these at the moment, my workload has been more pressing that I could ever have imagined. Thank you to everyone who is sticking with this, there is plenty more to come trust me!**

* * *

Anakin marvelled at the view from his room as the republic shuttle edged closer to Tholatin, the planet which had desperately requested Jedi intervention to stop a civil war from breaking out. As the planet grew larger, Anakin gained a better look at the mid-rim planet's surface. From such a distance the world looked delightful if he hadn't been informed there was conflict on the surface then he would never have guessed, from the void of space where silence reigned everything below looked so _peaceful_. Of course Anakin knew what he was seeing, simply an illusion. He had already begun to sense the overwhelming emotions radiating from the planet's surface, pain, anger… incredible fear. It took all of his control to swallow the lump residing in his throat and shut his mind away from the suffering innocents, he did not need an entire planet's troubles seeking residence inside his head what with all his demons currently residing there.

Anakin instead looked back to the beauty of the planet whilst he could, as soon as they landed this illusion of perfection would be shattered oh so dramatically. A large lush land mass covered almost all of the planet only interrupted by splashes of a vibrant turquoise which was evidently main bodies of water. The two colours intertwined and flirted with each other as the planet continued to spin, Anakin had never seen a planet like it.

He forced himself to look away from the serenity as the engines indicated docking procedures had started, it would only be a few minutes until they were dropped into the next mess. Anakin picked up his pack before heading out of the quarters, glad that Ferus had departed earlier to give the pair some much needed space. Anakin was not sure how he would survive this mission with the other Padawan but he knew he had to try if not for his sake then for Obi-Wan's, his Master already had enough on his plate as it was.

Just before Anakin left he felt a pang of guilt flare, the simple deception of keeping his visions from Obi-Wan, he had decided to bury it in his mind and not bother the elder Jedi rationalising it to himself by thinking that it was keeping the burden away from Obi-Wan. Deep down Anakin knew why he had kept the horrors to himself truly though, he didn't want his Master to see the monster he was becoming.

The Padawan shook the recurrent memory free and prepared to keep that part of his mind locked for a _very_ long time. Straightening his belt and saber hilt before leaving Anakin swiftly retracted his hand and hissed painfully, he glanced downwards quickly mind on alert over the sudden pain before realising it was _his_ saber that had burned. There was no mark on his hand now but Anakin knew he hadn't imagined the painful contact, when his hand had made contact with the crystal it had reacted.

 _'It can sense the darkness inside me…'_ He thought to himself horrifyingly, jumping to the damning conclusion immediately.

Anakin touched the saber hilt again tentatively hand ready to retract at the first sign of treachery, surprisingly none came. He frowned over the strange occurrence, the saber had been white hot to touch only moments ago.

 _"We've almost landed Padawan, are you ready?"_

Anakin almost jumped out of his skin as he heard his Master's voice drift into his mind, he quickly closed off the more sensitive memories in his jumbled head and chastised himself for not being prepared. Distraction had been his most prominent damning flaw yet again.

 _"On my way Master."_ He replied quickly before Obi-Wan could sense anything wrong and headed off towards the bridge.

* * *

Anakin was the last Jedi to reach the departing point so he expediently took his place beside Ferus, in front of Obi-Wan. When he had entered the room Obi-Wan had shot him an easy smile and Anakin noticed how relaxed the atmosphere seemed, a direct contrast to the icy temperatures he had left Obi-Wan in. More so than that Obi-Wan was standing close to Siri and she didn't appear as though she wanted to throttle him, always a good sign, in fact more than once he spotted the pair glance at one another and smile.

Somehow Obi-Wan had pulled off a miracle and fixed things with Siri, Anakin would never have guessed it could be done especially not so quickly after witnessing the state of the relationship between the two Jedi Master's only hours ago. Obi-Wan really was a proficient diplomat. Anakin's attempt to question the sudden reunion was rebuffed by Obi-Wan as soon as the query reached the elder Jedi's mind, the Padawan relented to let the unanswered question fall silent as truly the matter was none of his business. He was just happy that Obi-Wan and Siri were talking again, it made matters a lot less awkward for him too.

As soon as the outside door slid open Anakin felt something he hadn't felt in years, warmth and heat. The atmosphere of Tholatin reminded him so much of _home_ that it wasn't long before Anakin noticed his eyes close of their own violation memories of his mother rocketing through his mind, when he reopened them it was hard not to squint against the bright sunlight. He felt Obi-Wan stiffen slightly beside him and he felt a querying thought brush against his mind, of course his Master would have felt his rush of emotions and would quickly deduce what memories this planet had unintentionally sparked.

 _"Focus Padawan."_ Came the insistent reminder right on cue.

Anakin couldn't have agreed more with the order, he had absolutely no desire to have those memories dragged into the present. He already saw enough of his past every time he attempted to sleep lest he allow the odd handful of happy memories he had left be corrupted in any way.

 _"Yes Master."_ The diligent reply followed swiftly.

Only when Anakin had opened his mind enough to Obi-Wan did the Jedi Master relax his stance again, he could see that his Padawan had stamped down on any momentary flashes of home and that he was objective. _For now at least…_ Anakin sourly added.

Anakin knew Obi-Wan had heard his flippant remark as he felt a faint mental swat coming his way along with the burning of his Master's eyes into the back of his neck, the Padawan shrunk quickly against the scrutiny realising having Obi-Wan scour his mind was the last thing he needed.

 _"Sorry Master, I will remain focussed."_ Anakin hoped the meek abasement was enough to fool Obi-Wan.

He knew he had succeeded as he felt Obi-Wan withdraw from their bond, even if it was reluctantly. Anakin would have to be far more careful.

The docking was finally complete and the Jedi all strode out into the sunlight, boots echoing all the way down the ramp until they finally touched ground. Anakin smiled as he realised this was another alien world that he had now visited, oddly the gravity didn't feel too different from Coruscant even though this planet's was entirely natural.

He scanned the surroundings for danger and at the same time took in the views of Tholatin, they had landed at some sort of official building by the looks of the grandiose structure. It almost looked like a palace. Anakin could see far into the distance from the landing pad and what he saw disturbed him greatly, on the surface the cities looked grand and the landscapes were just as lush as they had appeared from up among the stars. At this distance though the fires could be seen, thick plumes of smoke danced into the air all over the land for miles to see, destruction of homes and buildings were littered across the horizon too. More so than that the atmosphere all of a sudden felt chilled as he identified a scent he had become far too accustomed too, death.

As the seconds dragged on Anakin felt the faint prickling in the back of his mind grow more prominent, he knew what it was before he truly felt the individuals' pain. Anakin was feeling each and every soul on this war-torn planet, his face grew grave as he discovered the true level of suffering on a more intimate level.

Anakin felt his fellow Jedi assess the surroundings just as he had and the mood of the landing party turned sour, grim even. They had travelled as fast as they could and yet they hadn't been able to stop the anguish, they hadn't been able to save so many of the innocents that were depending on them.

All four Jedi quickened their pace as they headed to what was clearly supposed to be their welcoming party stood at the entrance to the grand building's doors, Anakin quickly identified representatives from _both_ people as he sensed the hostile feelings in the air and noticed the aggressive body language in either party. It was clear to anyone with sight that these people were just one argument away from full scale war, calling this situation precarious was a grave understatement. Only now did Anakin fully understand why Obi-Wan had been sent even with his and Siri's dangerous past, his Master was a great diplomat and one of the Jedi's greatest negotiators. Clearly this situation would need everything that Obi-Wan could give.

Obi-Wan and Siri took the lead which left Anakin trailing behind with Ferus, he could feel the other boy's disdain for him without even needing to dig deeply. From the sly glances to the concealed mutterings Ferus was really starting to get on Anakin's nerves again. How could Siri not sense the unsavoury feelings from her Padawan?

Unfortunately for Anakin his Master seemed to be far more attuned to his Padawan, he felt a rather forceful push on his mind which definitely served in getting Anakin's attention.

 _'Padawan…"_ Obi-Wan almost growled.

Anakin huffed over the unfairness of the situation, wasn't it clear to the Jedi Master's that Ferus was at fault here? He had been antagonising Anakin and looking down upon him as soon as the two had seen each other in the Council chambers. Anakin couldn't help it if the other boy didn't like him.

He bit back a bitter retort and apologised to Obi-Wan for umpteenth time that day, he imagined his Master was beginning to lose count. Anakin saw Obi-Wan shake his head slightly and knew for a fact that his Master hadn't brought the lame attempt at an apology. It was only by luck that his Master didn't have the time to give Anakin a thorough talking to, they had far more pressing matters on their hands and by the looks of things the two parties up ahead were all but holding back from fighting as they walked.

Anakin and Ferus stayed back as Siri and Obi-Wan greeted the leaders of Trenken and Velos respectively, the pleasantries were exchanged swiftly and the whole affair was entirely strained. Anakin could sense the murderous thoughts springing from both sides equally and questioned how in the force they were going to get the pair to sit down and talk _without_ loss of life or limb.

It wasn't long before the Jedi were ushered inside rather urgently as the ground beneath their feet shook, another attack was underway. Only after the leader of Velos insisted that medical teams were already ready for this alongside the fact that none of the Jedi could feel anyone dying or in great danger did they actually allow themselves to be shuffled into the palace. Of course as soon as the explosion had hit the leader of Velos had started toward the leader of Trenken, angered by what he described as yet another cowardly attack upon his people. It took the combined force effort of Siri and Obi-Wan to keep the two people from tearing into one another and making the already disastrous situation a whole lot worse. The talks would need to start immediately if they had any chance of stopping retaliation, or worse war.

* * *

"That is outrageous!" The Trenken leader exclaimed loudly, accompanying the action by rising to his feet and slamming his great fists hard upon the table.

Not a moment later almost all of the representatives of the Velos people were on their feet, security from either side reached for weapons and barged forward towards the other side. Obi-Wan and Siri jumped up immediately and concentrated all of their focus upon the weapons, they managed to create an invisible wall of sorts between the warring sides which neither side could penetrate. He could feel Anakin and Ferus tense beside him at the change in situation, he ordered Anakin to stay seated mentally and sensed Siri do the same with Ferus. The atmosphere was filled with calming force suggestions as the Jedi Master's battled to keep the situation from boiling over entirely, they hadn't even been discussing the current affairs for very long before the situation had collapsed into the present calamity. Obi-Wan couldn't believe that despite all their efforts the situation had almost become unsalvageable, before they had even really started if they were honest.

So far Obi-Wan had managed to garner the crux of the situation upon Tholatin, the people of both sides had butted in continually over the last 15 minutes with conflicting stories but the underlying truth was there. Someone or something was attacking both people's cities, of course both the Velos and Trenken believed events to be the work of the other, Obi-Wan was not so sure. He had been trying to follow down that line of thinking when all this had kicked off and he was forced to manipulate the force to stop a disaster, he should have seen the outburst coming and stopped it in it's tracks. The problem was with a room full of hostile thoughts it was hard to pick out which would occur first.

Obi-Wan observed as the guards hands slowly moved away from their holsters and both sides ceased in their attempts to breach his and Siri's invisible barrier, realising the effort to be futile. He could actually feel the anger dissipating from both sides of the room.

"What is this trickery Jedi?" One of the diplomats spat across to them, obviously miffed that he had been denied his chance to release some pent up feelings.

Obi-Wan stared at the man who had spoken with as much intimidation as he could muster, these people were dangerously on the brink of war for what could be no legitimate reason, if he had to scare a few Senators to save thousands of lives then he would.

"This would not be needed if you all started acting as your position requires, your people deserve better than squabbling children when so many lives are on the line." He spoke coldly to each of the leaders in the room, glad that at least a handful started to feel shame brought on by his words. If they continued to be as aggressive as they had been then there was really nothing Obi-Wan could do for them and no one wanted that situation.

Not everyone was intimidated by the Jedi Master's tone and one dignitary even had the gall to question their very arrival.

"Who are you to dictate how we live our lives _Jedi?_ " The man sneered whilst turning his aggression in full force across the table to the four of them.

"It was you who requested Jedi assistance." Obi-Wan reminded the seeming man with his brows raised.

The man snickered in response and Obi-Wan knew instantly his mistake, these people didn't want them here at all this had the Senate's fingerprints all over it.

"The Senate _insisted_ you be allowed here Jedi, we did not ask for your help and quite frankly many of us don't want you here. It is obvious that the Trenken people are behind the attacks on our people and we intend to respond in kind."

"Respond?!" The leader from Trenken yelled in outrage, "It is your kind which have brutally attacked our people and cities! We have taken no action against Velos, we are the innocent victims here!"

Suddenly the growing calm in the room vanished and it took all of Siri and Obi-Wan's combined strength to keep the two sides from each other, both desperate to spill blood over their respective losses. It was clear to Obi-Wan that as far as they were concerned they knew who the enemy was.

Obi-Wan caught Siri's concerned gaze and couldn't help but echo her worry, it was bad enough that these people wanted to tear each other's throats out and were at the brink of war without proof that the other was truly at fault. To top things off entirely though it turns out that the Jedi envoy were not even wanted on the planet, that fact alone would make things almost impossible to resolve. Why would either civilisation listen or in fact go along with their attempts if they did not want Jedi intervention in the first place? The entire mission was a mess and if Obi-Wan didn't do something soon then it would all be over for everyone, a possibility that he could not allow to pass.

"Stop this!" He roared with all the authority and force suggestion he could muster.

Obi-Wan felt Anakin and Ferus join in the efforts to enforce calm upon the leaders and thankfully the combined efforts from the four Jedi began to work. One by one each of the leaders and guards returned to their seats and let go of some of their murderous feelings, others were far more reluctant than others.

In all the time he had listened to either side's accounts Obi-Wan had sensed no deception, both leaders were being truthful when they said they had not attacked the other. That only left one conclusion, a third party was somehow involved. Now the tricky part would be to discover who that third party was and convince the two leaders that they were being manipulated.

After everyone was seated again Obi-Wan loosened his hold on the invisible wall but remained ready for action, the tension in the room was so high that it was palpable.

"Will you allow me to talk uninterrupted for 5 minutes before you make your decisions?" He respectfully asked of the Velos and Trenken people.

Obi-Wan could see the reluctance to give him anytime at all in both of the leader's eyes, a gentle nudge in the positive direction had both men nod in acceptance albeit reluctantly. He caught Siri's warning glance and understood her caution, he had to walk a very fine line here if he were to get the information they required and not become the catalyst for this seemingly inevitable war.

"We have all witnessed evidence of bombings and great casualties for both the Velos and the Trenken, it is clear that all of your citizens have been hit hard by these attacks."

Obi-Wan heard mutterings as he addressed the chilled room of diplomats, a few even muttered "cowardly attacks" and sneered at their respective opposites. He paid them no heed and pressed on with his more delicate sentence, already sure that neither side was about to like what he had to say.

"Citizens of Velos, I have heard your passionate testimony and know that you speak the truth when you say you have not attacked the people of Trenken and are in fact the victims."

He was ready for the onslaught before it even truly began and held up a hand in warning to the people of Trenken who had all directed their outrage towards him, the elated faces of Velos soon fell as Obi-Wan began speaking again.

"Citizens of Trenken you also are victims in this situation, I know you have not attacked the people of Velos." Obi-Wan heard outraged gasps all round the room as he finished addressing both sides, unsurprisingly he could sense a growing rage directed towards the Jedi. Velos and Trenken believed he was playing them for fools.

"Preposterous!"

"Liar!"

"Such a contradiction is impossible."

"See? The Jedi have only come to trick us!"

Obi-Wan allowed the leaders a few moments to get their thoughts off their minds, he felt Siri stiffen beside him preparing for the situation before them to literally explode. Her thoughts drifted into his mind with a warning, _"I hope you know what you're doing…"_

So did he, truly.

Finally the question he had been waiting for was asked by one of the representatives, "If this is how you say Jedi then who has viscously attacked our people?" The tone was of course a mocking one but Obi-Wan batted that minor fact aside, the leader didn't know it yet but he had left himself open for a revelation he was not willing to accept.

"A third party."

Silence reigned around the room as everyone digested exactly what Obi-Wan had just stated, soon after the thought had been processed however the shocked mutterings began again in earnest. He kept his face and body language serious even in the face of ridicule until a few leaders began to doubt their own beliefs, that was all he needed a handful of doubt.

"It is your duty as Ministers to represent your people and protect them, it is also your duty to avoid war if it is not necessary. Do you not think every avenue should be explored before we all start pressing buttons?"

The challenging tone was effective in disarming the remainder of the mutterers, it was clear though that disbelief was thick in the air. Now the tricky part started, Obi-Wan was convinced that this was the work of another but he needed the people's knowledge to discover who and with these people so paranoid and ready for action it was going to be a tall order indeed.

"Do either of your countries have any enemies that would benefit from the two of you going to war? Anyone or any species that are against either of your governments?"

Obi-Wan scoured the room for any reaction as his questions hit home, all he needed was the faintest flicker of recognition to know that his suspicion was in fact correct. It didn't take long for one of the representatives to mutter the word "Rebels", of course the man was shot down by his nearby colleagues immediately but Obi-Wan had heard the thought nonetheless.

He rounded on the abashed man immediately, "These rebels tell me about them."

The plump Senator glanced at his colleagues meekly, embarrassed to have even brought up the matter in the first place and now unsure of himself. Obi-Wan pressed him again until eventually the man began to explain the mysterious group.

"They call themselves the Kencorb Relic Resistance," the Senator started, Obi-Wan leaned forward eagerly and encouraged the timid man to continue.

"Their kind have plagued our cities for decades but only recently have they actually started to make waves in the government."

Obi-Wan frowned, "With violence?"

The representatives all seemed to argue between themselves for a few minutes before somebody took charge, "They haven't had the resources to cause many problems, I wouldn't put it past them to be violent however."

The mood in the room shifted somewhat as for once both sides started to agree on something, Obi-Wan could sense that the Rebels had caused both governments a great deal more trouble than they were letting on. The revelation only helped to cement his theory, now it was just getting the people of Velos and Trenken to see the truth too.

"I'm assuming they stand against the government itself?" Obi-Wan pressed on, eager to capitalise on the swing in mood.

Several members scoffed and the leader of Velos answered rather angrily, "They seek to cause anarchy and trouble, they have no respect for the law or what is good and right for this world!"

There were a number of affirmative sounds echoing around the state room as again members from both sides started to agree on something, it was becoming clearer and clearer now that there was certainly more than just a little bad blood between the two governments and the Kencorb Relic Resistance. Just at that moment Obi-Wan felt a strange stirring in the force almost as if it were a warning, he scrutinised the feeling even as it slipped through his grip and evaded his mind. Whatever the vague disturbance had been it was now lost, Obi-Wan would have to meditate on it's occurrence when they had completed their mission.

He decided to press on with the point he had been leading to, "So you can both agree that these rebels cause trouble for both governments, is it not a possibility that these attacks have been orchestrated by them to turn you against one another?"

Stunned silence met his query, clearly no one had contemplated such a feat or if they had then the idea had been dismissed immediately. Obi-Wan heard Anakin gasp quietly and realised that the Padawan had finally joined all the dots just like he and Siri had, the force resounded that his revelation about the rebels was in fact true, the real question was why the people of this planet had fallen for such a simple ruse.

"But that cannot be, they neither have the resources or the money to pull off something like this." One minister spluttered.

There it was again that warning in the force, more resound this time but still too faint to grasp. A quick glance at Siri confirmed that he was not the only one to feel the change.

"Unless someone supplied them with both." Obi-Wan replied gravely, the force all but confirmed his deadly theory. He caught Siri's concerned eye as they both realised something much larger was at play here, somebody was playing god with an entire planet.

Obi-Wan observed as the ministers took in the latest revelations and sensed their anger towards one another dissipate mostly into shock, and in many cases disbelief. He was not naive enough to think that the governments would believe his theory without proof, the next near-impossible task would be having the ministers agree to give the Jedi time to find these rebels.

Eventually the leader of Trenken spoke up, "You cannot expect us to just trust you Master Jedi, we cannot know for sure that these rebels are the cause of these attacks as you say." He glanced over suspiciously at the Velos party as he finished.

"I'm not suggesting you take my word for it Minister, we will get you your proof."

Obi-Wan felt Siri's kick under the table and turned to look at her face, she was evidently miffed that he had promised such a feat. Offering any less however would not have been enough to keep the two governments from war, even this may not be enough…

"How?" Both leaders demanded at almost the same time.

"We will coordinate with your security forces and infiltrate the rebel group, I assume you have intelligence services monitoring their activities?" Obi-Wan could feel Siri's glare harshly burning into the nape of his neck but continued nonetheless, she believed he was making it sound easier than it would be. That was kind of the point though.

Both leaders turned to their respective officials in charge of intelligence, the pair both admitted to keeping tabs on the growing rebel movement and to Obi-Wan's surprise they had even had undercover officers inside the enemy camp. However to the Jedi's chagrin it was then quickly revealed that all resources had been pulled from the rebels movement as soon as the attacks had been blamed on either nation, not only that but also their inside men had failed to check in as scheduled.

"You didn't think that your men missing their rendezvous was relevant?" Obi-Wan grilled the two security officers, the leaders of Velos and Trenken also looked very interested in the answer.

Under so much scrutiny the poor man began to splutter, "Well no, not with our preparations against the other side. We didn't have the resources to check…"

As the man trailed off Obi-Wan felt even more minds swayed to his theory, the plan had been very well executed he had to admit. Tie up both side's resources and turn them against one another, then swoop in after they had finished killing each other to claim the planet for themselves. It was cunning and strategic, not to mention barbaric with the amount of innocent live's inevitably lost in the process. Obi-Wan swallowed down the sickening feeling and pushed onward.

"They have turned you against one another for a reason, whilst you are busy killing each other the rebels will be undermining the both of you right under your noses. They'll swoop in and obliterate both sides, claiming this planet for themselves." The chilling words were enough to serve as a warning to even the most trigger happy of the group, the resounding conclusion was reached that if they went to war they may very well be playing right into the rebels' hands.

"Even if we do believe all of this, which I'm not saying we are." A good sign, the leaders of both sides were doubting their own beliefs now. "How are you going to find the proof if these rebels are as cunning as you suggest?"

It was a good question and meant to disarm but Obi-Wan had already an answer.

"Right now the rebels are complacent, they are biding their time whilst the two of you push closer to war. They know they're not even suspected at the moment so we will be able to slip in unnoticed."

Obi-Wan felt a shift in Anakin's mind at the mention of the mission, he had felt his Padawan grow more bored by the minute inside the state room. Just the mention of a challenge had the boy's attention spark which caused Obi-Wan to make a mental note to work on the boy's patience, if anything these parts of the mission were far more delicate and dangerous than dealing with rebels blasting weapons at you. In this room the Jedi were juggling with every life on the planet, Anakin would have to learn that diplomacy was vital.

The representatives discussed matters with their respective security teams and it was soon agreed that half of the Jedi team would work with the intelligence officers to investigate the rebels whilst the other half would remain to help keep the peace, the situation in the state room was still precarious after all. Obi-Wan suggested the groups take an interim to prepare for the tasks ahead, both governments jumped at the chance to discuss matters in private. The four Jedi evacuated the state room and convened in the corridor outside to discuss strategy.

"That was risky Obi-Wan." Siri admonished her colleague immediately.

"Well it worked didn't it?" Obi-Wan cheekily replied causing a smile to spread across Siri's face.

The mood quickly sobered and the conversation moved onto the game-plan, Anakin and Ferus were ushered away whilst Obi-Wan and Siri discussed their next move. Neither of them missed the animosity between the two Padawan's as they skulked off.

"Myself and Ferus will go after the rebels." Siri stated confidently.

"Are you sure that's the right choice?" He began delicately, not wanting her to mistake the concern and interpret it as a lack of skills. Obi-Wan had no qualms about Siri going after the rebels he just wasn't sure about Ferus, Anakin was a gifted Padawan for all of his faults and Obi-Wan knew he could handle the task.

Siri thankfully didn't take the query badly, she only smiled and ended the debate with just one more line.

"You're needed here Obi-Wan, we both know you're a far better negotiator than I am. If I was left alone with those diplomats the war would have already started."

As much as Obi-Wan wanted to disagree with his colleague he knew he just couldn't, she was right of course as she always was. They both had their skills and this was the best way of utilising them.

"Do you want me to take Anakin with me as well? I noticed he was getting a tad restless…"

Obi-Wan shook his head slowly, Anakin and Ferus would get far too distracted if they worked together at present. They already had enough tension without those two clawing at each other's throats the whole mission, it would endanger everything, it would endanger Siri.

"No I don't want those two anywhere near each other if we can help it, I don't want to throw a ticking time bomb into an already explosive situation."

Siri rolled her eyes at the phrase but nodded in agreement also, "I thought they'd grow out of this rivalry but it looks like we'll have to intervene when this is all over."

Obi-Wan nodded, "When this is all over…"

That was a task for another day, for now it was time to keep their heads in the present moment. Both knew their responsibilities and what was at stake, only with their full attention could this disaster be averted. Anakin would have to cope with being left out of the fight on this occasion, force knows he would have many more opportunities in his life time. That boy attracted trouble like no other.

Obi-Wan and Siri bid farewell to each other in the usual form, well with the addition of a semblance from Obi-Wan.

"Good luck Siri."

She responded by flashing one of her dazzling smiles before striding off towards the security office's, looking back with a slight smirk pulling at her lips.

"You too Ben." Indicating the state door with a nod of her head.

The meaning was not lost on him, his job would be as hard if not harder than Siri's would ever be. Obi-Wan called a grumpy Padawan back over and opened the doors to the state room, not allowing the boy to get a word in edgeways. He knew exactly what Anakin wanted to do, he wanted to be the team on the outside in the thick of it. The Padawan would not be getting what he wanted today though, today they would be diplomats. With a nervous heart and growing trepidation, Obi-Wan followed his Padawan back into the lion's den.

* * *

 **A/N - I sincerely hope that the next gap will not be as long, I am looking forward to writing the next few chapters when I get the time :)**

 **Until next time...**


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